Read to your Child. This is the most obvious, but regularly reading to your child, a variety of books, will help to build excitement and a love of books. Not to mention quality time with you.
- Show your child how the book opens, where the cover and back is, and how to turn the pages. This will help them to understand how books work, where they begin and end.
- When you read, point to the words. This will show your child that we read from left to write.
- As your child learns letters ask him/her to point out the letters they recognize. They will be excited to show you.
- As your child learns small sight words (and, can, it, the etc.) stop and ask them to read it. Don't push if they're not ready. Let them enjoy your reading time together; you can have them read to you at another time.
- Don't limit them to children's books. My father read Tolkien's “The Hobbit” to me when I was two. This will help to develop your child's imagination as they envision the creatures and stories you are reading about.
Let your child see you read. Seeing your love of reading will encourage the same in your child. Sometimes my nine year old and I will each sit with our different books and read together, now that he reads independently.
- I also make it a point to try and read the books he is reading before he does. This way, I can filter things out I feel he's not ready for and also have some great conversations as he reads through. I enjoy making him read more when he asks me what's going to happen. For instance, he's dying to know what happens in the last Harry Potter (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) book but he's only on the fifth in the series (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). It is wonderful to share books and experiences together, taking many adventures along the way.
- Note on filtering: I'm not one for banning books but I do feel as a parent it is my responsibility to determine at what age they are ready for certain information. For instance, I'm reading through Phillip Pullman's “Dark Trilogy” series. Though I'm reading it, I've explained to my children that I don't feel it's material they are ready for yet. The aim of the characters in this series is to undermine the church and destroy the god of the worlds in the book. Though I am glad to say that the church and god in these books are obviously not the same God and church that I love and have a relationship with (though they have been, in the past and now, represented wrongly, which leads to books such as these) I don't feel my children are ready to decipher the difference. We've talked openly about this, instead of just saying, “You can't read this!”
Find Books that appeal to your child. This will be different depending on your child and his or her personality and tastes. My middle child loves regular children's books and Dr. Seuss like most children. However, my oldest seemed bored by these, but is a huge movie fan. So when he was learning to read we took him to the local bookstore and he picked out books, at the beginning reading level, that were based on the latest movies out. He would come home all excited and want to read them right away.
Be patient and don't give up. There were frustrating periods in which I thought that reading would be a life long struggle for both of my boys and they would not love books as I do (I know, it is a little dramatic). However, we kept trying and kept reading and one day something clicked.
If you think your child is struggling more then most, talk to their teacher. There may be special helps available in your school to help your child learn to read. If not, ask your school or pediatrician to point you in the right direction.
Have fun reading with your kids!
