By Ryan Spencer, Dymocks Literacy Expert and State Director of the Australian Literacy Educator’s Association
Learning to read is a complicated process and parents often wonder if their child is developing reading abilities at the rate they “should”. Whilst it’s tempting to compare children of the same age in terms of their reading development, this is in no way a reliable indicator because reading is a developmental process and can vary for different children, regardless of age.
As parents, it’s little wonder that we often feel as though our kids aren’t as successful with reading as we’d like them to be. The battle between sounding out words and using the sentence as context for understanding – have seemed only to add unnecessary stress and anxiety. The feelings of helplessness in regards to reading often translate into less-than-productive reading experiences with children and the transfer of parents’ stress and anxiety onto their children.
To help encourage your kids to enjoy reading and read better, it’s best to shift away from a narrowly-focused, phonics (sounding out) only approach. Rather, focus on reading for pleasure as a way to re-engage kids with books.
Once we take away any imposed restrictions, your kid’s self-efficacy towards reading increases, therefore leading to an increase in their reading ability. They’re also far more likely to enjoy reading as a result.
Here are five ways parents can help kids become strong readers:
Let your kids choose what they want to read
Book choice is an important component of the reading process. As adults, we very rarely read anything that we either don’t love or enjoy. Why then do we insist that children must read cover to cover something that they don’t necessarily enjoy or like? As parents, we often feel that when we select children’s books for them we are supporting them to achieve at their level and helping them practise specific, reading-related skills – though this frequently has the opposite effect as restrictions can turn kids off reading altogether. Letting your children choose their own books is vital in helping them to develop into strong, self-sufficient readers.
Relax around the process
The simplest way to encourage children to engage in reading is to relax around the process. Did you know the physical location can make a real difference to how reading is perceived and enjoyed? Try lying down on the lounge room floor, Mum and Dad’s bed, or outside under a tree. Or even head to the park on a sunny day! Avoid treating every reading session as a learning exercise as that’s a sure-fire way to turn kids off reading altogether. Let them know that it’s okay for them to read whatever they want, and that there are no penalties for unfinished books.
Make reading time fun and quick
Introduce an element of fun to the entire reading process. Read together with funny voices and try humorous books to engage the reluctant readers in your family. You should aim for no more than ten minutes reading together – just enough to encourage the kids to come back tomorrow. Set a timer if you need to, it will encourage them to ask for a minute or two more when reading time comes to an end. Also, make regular visits to the bookstore as part of your family’s routine – these trips are also simple ways to drive reading passion.
Don’t be an instant word factory
The core of the reading process is making meaning. When a child changes a word in the text, they are being a resourceful reader. They are working towards making sure that the text that they are reading makes sense for them. Getting stuck on a word in many cases results in pointing at the unknown word and sounding out, or the parent becomes the “instant word factory” and supplies the word to the child. Both of these strategies are unsustainable. Encourage your child to skip the word and read on for more information, use the pictures for a clue, or even leave the word behind and continue reading. Simple prompts, such as “what would make sense here?” or “let’s read on for more information”, reminds children of the strategies they can use to figure out unknown words.
Celebrate book variety and diversity
Parents are often misled into thinking that their children need to focus on one particular type of book, such as picture books or novels in order to practise specific, reading-related skills. However, when we restrict choice, particularly to contrived, boring texts, children frequently perceive this as an indicator of their reading capability and therefore meet that ow expectation. If you remove the restrictions, a child’s self-efficacy towards reading will increase. For beginner readers, introduce them to novelty books with interactive elements to engage. For older readers, incentivise them to explore a wide variety of texts such as casual literature (newspapers, magazines) and graphic novels. Allowing kids to experiment and discover what they like is a great way to encourage them to read for pleasure.
Ready to start reading with your little ones? Choose from the best selection in Dymocks Children Reading Guide.
