When Should Your Child Start To Read? Probably Sooner Than You Thought

There are many ways you can help your child learn to read. Some things you can try include:

• Reading to your child every day
• Encouraging your child to recognize familiar words and letters
• Teaching your child phonemic awareness (the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in words)
• Providing your child with age-appropriate reading materials
• Encouraging your child to sound out words and read aloud
• Using fun and engaging reading activities and games
• Providing plenty of praise and encouragement

There are many great reading materials for kids, including:

• Children’s books with simple text and colorful illustrations
• Beginner reader books with repetitive text and easy-to-decode words
• Magazines and newspapers for kids (We like Highlights)
• Online articles and stories for kids
• Poetry and nursery rhymes

Here are some tips for encouraging your child to read more:

• Set aside a designated reading time each day
• Create a comfortable and inviting reading space in your home
• Let your child choose their own reading materials
• Read aloud to your child and have them follow along
• Visit the library regularly and let your child pick out books
• Encourage older siblings or family members to read with your child
• Offer rewards or incentives for reading a certain number of books: Remember those free Pizza Hut pan pizzas we got in elementary school for reading at home? That was a pretty awesome way to encourage reading in our opinion.

Some common challenges when teaching kids to read include:

• Struggling with phonemic awareness
• Difficulty decoding words
• Poor reading comprehension
• Lack of interest in reading

To overcome these challenges, you can try:

• Providing extra phonemic awareness and phonics instruction with a program like Reading Head Start
• Practicing sounding out words and reading aloud with your child
• Asking your child questions about the text to help with comprehension
• Finding books that match your child’s interests and reading level (Dinos and Robotics were a hit in our house)
• Using fun and engaging reading activities and games
• Seeking help from a teacher or reading specialist if needed

“Phonetics studies the sounds we actually produce in speech. Phonemics studies the way we understand those sounds.”- StackExchange English Language & Usage

Traditionally these are some signs that your child may be ready to start reading:

• They show an interest in understanding the printed word
• They can recognize familiar words and letters
• They have a good understanding of phonemic awareness (the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in words)
• They are able to sound out simple words and read them aloud with some accuracy
• They have a good attention span and can focus on a task for an extended period of time
• They have the desire to learn and try new things

However, Sarah Shepard, the creator of the Reading Head Start program suggests that children do NOT need to have any knowledge of even the alphabet to be able to start the reading process. She even suggests that the program can work for children that have shown no previous interest in reading. 

Here are some ways you can help your child improve their reading comprehension:

• Encourage your child to preview the text before they start reading. This can help them get an idea of what the text is about and what they should be looking for as they read.
• As your child reads, encourage them to stop and think about what they are reading. Ask them questions about the text to help them better understand it and make connections to their own experiences and knowledge.
• Encourage your child to make predictions as they read. This can help them engage with the text and make connections to what they already know.
• Help your child create a mental picture of what is happening in the text. Encourage them to use their imagination and think about what the characters and settings look like. Using the pictures for clues is a good way to start.
• After your child finishes reading a page, ask them to summarize what they read. This can help them process and retain the information they just read.