A lot of people in today’s time do not realize just how important reading really is. Without the ability to read, getting through daily life would be significantly more difficult. This is one of the many reasons why it is crucial that you teach your children how to read from a young age. Even if your child is very young, building the foundations for reading in your child’s head can do a lot for your child’s future. Thankfully, there are many things that you can do to strengthen those foundations in young child’s mind. Even something as simple as talking to your child as he or she learns to read can be beneficial in the long run.
As your child approaches school age, there are even more things that you can do for him or her. Not only will you be able to have a thoughtful, or at least semi-thoughtful discussion, about what was in the text, you will also be able to help your child advance by associating reading with good things. For instance, reading a recipe with your child can lead to you making a delicious batch of cookies that your child can have as a reward for reading and understanding a recipe. These are just a few of the things that you can do to help encourage your child to read.
What Can You Do for Young Readers?
You can begin teaching your child how to read from a very young age, even as young as two or three years old. Of course, you shouldn’t expect substantial progress at this age but it will still help your child make connections and build the foundations necessary for learning how to read in school. Young children often have a harder time with reading for a number of reasons. Focus is often one of the largest problems that parents have with young children. However, there are a few ways that you can fix this issue.
Talk to Your Child
Even if your child is not old enough to really form coherent sentences, it is important to talk to your child. This will help your child develop verbal skills as your child will be able to watch and hear you talk. When you do this, you should talk in simple and short sentences to make it easier for your child to understand. You should also talk about things that your child is experiencing as well, such as what the child is doing, the environment around you and your child, and the objects in the environment. You can also consider singing songs and poems that have repetitive sounds and rhyme schemes in them. This repetition will be easier for your child to pick up and it will help your child understand a little bit more about speaking and eventually reading.
Read with Your Child
While some people might not see the point in doing this as your child is far too young to understand the words and comprehend the story, it is important to do it quite often. Even reading a book for 30 minutes a day can help your child out as he or she will be able to watch how it’s done. There are some simple yet important ideas that your child will be able to grasp even if he or she doesn’t understand the words being said. For example, your child will be able to see that you typically read from left to right and from the top of the page down to the bottom. When you run your index finger under the words, your child will eventually be able to grasp the idea that those printed letters on the page actually have a meaning. As he or she gets better at reading, you can interact a little bit more and ask him or her to identify letters and sounds as you read. This also helps your child develop good reading habits, which will become very important when your child reaches school age.
What Can You Do for School-Age Children?
As your child reaches the age where he or she can go to school, such as preschool or kindergarten, you can breathe a little bit of fresh air. After all, teachers will generally take care of some reading activities in class, which will help your child out in the long run. With that being said, when your child returns home from school, you should still encourage reading. There are still many things that you can do. In fact, there are even more things that you can do now that your child has some level of comprehension. From reading with your child and asking your child about the content of their book to being able to establish a set reading time, there is so much that you can do to encourage a school-age child to read.
Talk About Reading
One of the best things you can do to encourage a school-age child to read is to talk about reading. You can establish a reading time, even if it’s as short as ten minutes a day, to help your child get a little bit of experience in. During that allotted reading time, you can ask your child to take notes about what he or she is reading. Once your child has done this, you can talk to your child about the book. Not only will this bolster your child’s reading comprehension skills but this can also be good for your child as well. If he or she is reading an enjoyable book, there’s a good chance that your child will be happy to talk about it with you.
You can also consider asking your child to read aloud. Reading aloud is a little more difficult than reading to yourself. This means that when you get your child to read aloud, you are ultimately helping his or her reading skills. If you decide to ask your child to read aloud, you should consider giving your child praise and open up discussions about what is being read. Doing these things will help your child feel more comfortable when it comes to reading.
Plan Activities
Now that your child is a little bit older, you can do a few more things. When it comes to reading, you could consider restricting time on the television or computer for time learning how to write. Teaching your child how to write will not only help him or her out but it will also improve his or her reading skills as well. You can also choose to visit the library with your child so that he or she can pick out an exciting new book to read. These are all activities that will help your child out significantly when it comes to reading. Before you know it, your child will be more than happy to spend a part of the day reading a book.
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