3 Big Mistakes To Avoid When Teaching Kids To Read

Your child's learning journey towards reading mastery can be a bumpy one. Sometimes those bumps are caused by us, the well intentioned parent. Find out the three common mistakes that parents make when teaching their child to read.

Getting books above reading level

Yes, we know you want to challenge your child and push him to the next reading level, however this ‘help’ only hinders their reading development. Your child will find it difficult to read the ‘harder’ book and slow down their reading. What this ultimately does is it causes more damage to their reading confidence.

Reading when frustrated or angry

When your child is angry or frustrated, they are unable to focus, concentrate or think. If you insist on pushing on, it will only lead to more frustration for both parties and might induce your child to truly believe that they don\'t like to read. What you can do is to try saying, \'I can see that your angry right now, and need a little time to cool down. Go get a drink and let me know when you’re feeling better about things".

Neglecting to read with your child

Last but not least, we cannot stress the importance of making reading with your child a daily affair. This is imperative and many parents fall into the trap of missing reading time with their child especially after a long and stressful day at work. But the time you spend daily with your child reading, even if it’s for 10 minutes, will help immensely in their reading development. This is even more obvious in children who are struggling to read.

No parent is perfect and could make mistakes when reading to kids but the most important thing to remember when reading with your child is to keep it fun and positive and it will prove to be a pleasant experience for all involved. Let us know if you are guilty of any of these mistakes when reading to kids and share with us what tips have worked for you and your child in their reading journey.

Written by

Wafa Marican

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