5 tips to help your child learn to love reading
With children’s differing learning styles, teaching them to read is not always straight forward
If we were lucky, teaching a child to read would be as cozy and rewarding as snuggling up with a bedtime story.
But between changing curricula, learning loss from the pandemic and the complex landscape of children's differing learning styles, learning to read can quickly get complicated.
For some parents, it can mean floods of tears, constant calls with teachers and bargaining with your child even just to open a book.
There's no one silver bullet that will guarantee a child becomes a skilled and avid reader. But here are some things you can try to encourage your kids to fall in love with the written word.
Begin at the right beginning
When children struggle with their reading, they can quickly get discouraged, says psychologist Katelyn Bryant, assistant director of the Mary J. Wright Child and Youth Development Clinic at Western University in London, Ont.
While it can be tempting to nudge your learning reader toward the books some of their peers may be tackling, rushing things can backfire.
"I think one of the toughest things is just making sure we're starting at a point that's really comfortable so that they're motivated to keep working on it," Bryant told Just Asking host Saroja Coelho.
Instead, you may need to do simple exercises first, focussing on the sounds made by letters and, from there, sounding out really short words, says Bryant, who holds a PhD in school and clinical child psychology.
Model reading at home
Reading to your child can help with their language acquisition and vocabulary, says Bryant, so it can be beneficial to keep bedtime stories and other reading rituals you have going as long as possible.
Reading together, where your child reads and you provide assistance when needed, may also have potential benefits, she says.
If you struggle to get your child away from screens, it may help if your child routinely sees you make a priority of reading for pleasure, says Bryant.
If you've fallen out of the habit, now could be a good time to tackle your to-be-read pile, or get some recommendations from friends, neighbourhood booksellers or online resources.
Try a reading challenge
Chris Ward, a Grade 4 teacher in Taber, Alta., runs a reading challenge each year with his students, asking them to complete two books each month, for a total of 20 over the school year.
"I'd say about 80 per cent of the children I teach are able to meet that goal of 20 books. Many of them will go beyond that," said Ward. As a group, they'll often try to beat the number of books read by his class the previous year.
For each book they complete, the students write answers to a few questions to show that they understood the content, he said.
That's really critical, says Marc Joannise, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Western University who researches reading and language acquisition.
"Ultimately the goal of reading is to understand what's on the page, not just sound those words out loud," said Joannise, who holds a PhD in linguistics and cognitive neuroscience.
Ward says the challenge gives his students a chance to discover what kinds of books they like, and to establish reading as a priority, despite all the other things that compete for their attention.
He gives his students a candy for each completed book, but parents who try a reading challenge at home could also consider other incentives, such as a sticker chart or points toward a fun outing.
As a parent, you can join in and track your reading on the same paper chart, or, if you prefer, a platform such as Goodreads, Storygraph, Fable or #BookTok.
Let them pick the topics
Your reluctant reader could be just one book series or pet topic away from developing a love of reading, so let them choose on their own.
Doing so could mean the difference between "actually reading the kinds of things that get them excited rather than just making it feel like a chore," said Joanisse.
It's even better when you engage them in conversation about those books, he says.
"Talking to them about the content of that book, maybe you're reading it yourself, is one way to make sure that your child is actually bringing in the right kinds of books for themselves."
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Intervene early
If you think your child is having challenges with reading that will take more than just some additional practice to address, it's best to trust your instincts and seek support early.
"Some of our best interventions can happen in kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2," said Bryant, "so we want to pick them up early at school. We want to respond quickly to parents' concerns when they're noticing reading challenges at home."
In addition to school-based reading support, parents may be able to access help from professionals in the community, including speech language pathologists and psychologists, she says.
But it's not all on you to figure out.
"A lot of pressure can be put on parents to take responsibility when kids are struggling to learn to read. However, children's reading development is influenced by many factors outside their parents' control, including children's brain-based characteristics."
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Produced by Rachel DeGasperis