Simple Effective Ideas to Improve Your Child’s Reading Skills

Reading is a skill that’s critical in setting a strong foundation for success; it improves vocabulary, enhances communication skills, elevates intellectual level and develops a longer attention span. Reading skills for kids  increase their ability to understand all subjects better and perform well at school.

However, reading skills cannot be acquired overnight; they must be encouraged in children at a young age to help shape their personalities early on. 

As a parent, there are a number of things you can do to improve reading skills in your child, such as:

1. Establish a Reading Routine –

Here’s why reading every day is recommended:

• It will help your child’s brain establish a connection between the written and spoken words sooner.
• When they read every day, children come across repeated words and grammatical structures, which helps their brain register the new information and remember it for a long time. 
• The daily practice develops a reading habit as well as a love for books in your child. 

• If your child can’t read yet, you can read to them, and gradually, ask them to read to you as they learn.

2. Encourage Reading on the Go –

   Have your child read roadside signs, food menu, movie listings, and other practical information necessary in everyday life. Reading new information that helps them or anybody else will give your child a sense of accomplishment. Soon enough, they will start reading everything around them without even being asked to. This is a great way to ensure that reading for kids is not a task but something they enjoy doing. 

3. Buy or Borrow Books of Their Choosing –

   Many times, kids find it difficult to acquire reading skills simply because they are not interested in the kind of books they read. To fix this, expose your child to different genres or storybooks so that they can pick and choose. Also, kids tend to read a book with curiosity if they choose it themselves. Find out what topics intrigue your child and then guide them in selecting books they would love. 

4. Enter Them into Reading Contests –

   Nothing works better than the idea of winning if you want to get your child to do something that they are not particularly fond of. Many community centres, libraries and summer camps frequently hold reading competitions for kids. See if it is feasible and enrol your child. Winning prizes will serve as a great incentive for your child to read and improve their reading skills. 

5. Rectify Reading Problems –

   With a whole class to teach, teachers at school find it difficult to give each kid the attention they should get. And this may cause some of your child’s reading problems to go unnoticed. Many children also end up being demotivated for the same reason. So give your child your complete attention and encourage them to read aloud to help rectify any mistakes they are making while reading. Also, praise them every time they show improvement. It will keep your child highly motivated to read more often and improve their reading.

Reading can be overwhelming for kids, especially in the initial stages. So make sure to surround them with books every chance you get. Also, try to read alongside them to set a good example. These little efforts and consistency will improve their reading skills dramatically. 

By Samidha Raj

Samidha works as part of the content marketing team at Planet Spark, a platform that provides online classes to K8 learners on “New Age Skills” like, English Communication, Public Speaking, Grammar, Creative Writing, Debating, etc. She is passionate about empowering youth by educating parents about the importance of 21st-century skills. In her free time, you can find her watching documentaries or animated movies and organizing game nights (board games are her thing)!