Reading – it’s important: Help your child read more often.

Is your child reading regularly?

If not, what is stopping them from choosing to read?

You might think they don’t read often because of all the devices they use, or that they prefer sports, or that they have never been good at reading….But those are still not enough reasons to not read. Do you agree? You might believe, as I do, that reading regularly – anything that is well-written, including comics and magazines – will help your child do better in life as well as at school. They definitely learn about other people and other places and also expand their vocabulary and ideas when they read regularly. Let us look at what you can do to change what stops them from reading.

Here are some of the reasons I hear explaining why children aren’t reading for pleasure.

They prefer using electronic devices. Limit their use! Fads in areas such as computer games, apps, and social media sites, come and go, as you may have noticed, with dismaying speed. Fluent reading is still a core skill  that enriches our lives and makes them easier, and will probably continue to be a crucial skill for your children as adults. The rule ‘ work first play after’ is important for us as adults when we want to do well in life. Learning is your child’s work. Teach them to ‘read first and play later’. I have seen many reluctant readers  eventually prefer to read because they learn to experience reading as play. You as their parent can decide that reading is important for them to do regularly and then you can negotiate from there. I also suggest that you regularly show interest in the story they are currently reading (I often read it ahead of them).

They prefer to be active rather than sit and read. Many of us do. However, interests and work they choose to pursue in life probably requires a competent level of reading and writing skill. Don’t you agree? I believe from my experiences as a coach that children who don’t seem to be able to sit still can usually be taught that skill. You might notice that your child is quite still when focused on something they find totally fascinating. I keep their work interesting and challenging and exciting, and I use versions of games that monitor and reward their concentration. I no longer believe that most children can’t learn to sit still  and concentrate on their work for a period of time.

Reading has always been difficult for them. Many children are reluctant to read, often because they found it hard to learn that skill when they were younger. Many children didn’t have enough practice at developing strong phonics skills, which is how letters relate to particular sounds, so they often had difficulty learning to both read and spell.  It is very important that your child masters the letter-sound relationships (or phonics) when reading and spelling unknown words. There is a great deal out there on how to help your child develop phonics skills. Find fun ways to do that and they will stay engaged and learn faster.

I like to share my coaching ideas with as many people as possible so please share this post with other like-minded families so they too can develop the skills to create exceptional students in their families.

Warmly,

Anne