Educating your toddler: How to help your child learn to read or read better
Recently, children’s reluctance to read has become a serious concern. This is likely due to passive teaching methods. With the abundance of information from television and computer games, we spend less time introducing children to books and reading.A child's ability to read is not solely determined by intellect. Learning to read can be affected by many factors, and there are numerous reasons why difficulties might arise.
Common reasons why a child struggles with reading:
- Fear of failure. For primary school children, the pressure to succeed from parents and teachers can block their motivation to pick up a book if they're not successful right away.
- Improper breathing. Children may spend too much time inhaling or exhaling incorrectly, disrupting their reading flow.
- Long pauses between words. Slow reading reduces understanding of the text.
- Distracted attention. The child may recognize syllables but struggle to remember several words at a time, leading to mechanical reading.
- Poor word recognition and slow reading, especially for long words, even in children who are no longer reading by syllable.
- Disrupted interaction between different brain functions.
- Visual and hearing impairments.
- Overlooking the child’s psychological characteristics.
Advice:
We invite you to take our unique Parenting Mentor Test, which will help you understand why your child might be facing certain challenges. Based on the results, you’ll receive detailed recommendations to fully and harmoniously develop your child, including intellectually.
Phlegmatic children may need more time to learn new things, but tend to retain knowledge for life.
Choleric children often learn quickly (important at school), but may forget quickly due to short-term memory.
Therefore, it’s essential to consider all of your child’s psychological traits when choosing the best method for teaching reading.
How can you help your child learn to read?
- Choose interesting texts to keep reading fun and motivate your child to finish books.
- Devote at least half an hour daily to reading aloud together. Try to make reading a daily routine.
- Remember that play is a child’s primary activity; create playful situations during reading.
For example, speed-reading games (“Who can read faster?”). For younger children, word and picture cards can make reading more engaging (“Read and find the matching picture”). Host a reading contest (even better with siblings). These are just a few games you can play with your kids.
- The most effective way to inspire a love of reading is by setting a personal example. If your child often sees you reading, they’re more likely to enjoy reading as well.
It’s never too early or too late. What matters is your child’s readiness and interest in learning to read. The right age for reading is unique to each child, but preparation starts at birth by developing your child’s listening skills, attention, memory, and speech. Choose age-appropriate books, and before your child reads fluently, select well-illustrated books where pictures match the text.
Teaching reading
If your child does not show interest in letters or reading, you may need a different teaching approach.
Basic rules for teaching your child to read:
- Integrate reading instruction with developing auditory and visual perception, attention, memory, thinking, and speech.
- Select a teaching method based on your child’s individual learning style (try a VAK quiz: auditory learners benefit from reading aloud, visual learners from seeing text and images).
- Pace learning according to your child’s temperament, age, and intellectual level.
- Compare your child’s progress to their starting point. Celebrate every bit of improvement.
- Develop their ability to predict what comes next. Teach them to recognize whole words or ideas, not just individual letters or syllables.
- Gradually increase difficulty. Avoid overwhelming your child with difficult texts at the start and don’t demand instant mastery.
Daily activities to boost your child’s reading skills
Help your child develop these five motivations:- Cognitive motive – wanting to read to learn about the world (animals, dinosaurs, space, etc.).
- Perspective motive – wanting to read to find schoolwork easier and more interesting.
- Personal growth motive – wanting to read to imitate adults (like mom and dad).
- Active motive – wanting to read to play word games, make up stories, or create fairy tales.
- Social motive – wanting to read to discuss books with friends.
Practice reading short text passages with your child regularly. For primary school children, the process might look like this:
- Select a 180-word passage.
- Have your child read it three times in the morning and once in the evening. Record how long it takes each time.
- Repeat daily until your child can read 180 words in one minute. This exercise helps boost confidence and reading speed.
Take a favorite old book, tell your child about it enthusiastically, and encourage reading together. Reading passionately can make the experience enjoyable for both of you. Share memories of your favorite books from your own childhood.
Organize your bookshelves and invite your child to help. While tidying books, explain different types (encyclopedias, dictionaries, fiction), talk about literary genres and basic terms (poetry, prose, novel, etc.).
Discover your child’s interests, such as music, technology, space, or animals. As a parent, you probably know your child’s preferences, so choosing the right book shouldn’t be hard. When recommending a book, be thoughtful. Make sure it isn’t too difficult, has large print, engaging illustrations, and an appealing design. A small, attractive book from a series can help maintain your child’s interest over time.