How To Help Children Read

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The ability in a child to read is critical for his/her intellectual growth and development as well as success at school. Good readers have better diction, good command over their language and do better at literacy tasks. They are also more socially adept and confident.

Children should read more out of pleasure and enjoyment rather than think that it’s a mundane chore in which they have no interest. This can only happen with the active support and intervention of the parents. Here are some tips and strategies to get your child to be an avid and interested reader.

Tips To Help Children Read

Hone His/Her Talent

Some children show an uncanny and inherent love for books right from an early age. Young toddlers show a keen interest in books, pictures, magnetic alphabets and numbers. They love to browse through colourful books and enjoy being read to. As a parent, it is your job to encourage and effectively inculcate this talent. Help the child to read and encourage his/her reading skills.

Read Aloud

One of the best ways to encourage reading is to get more and more books into the house and read aloud to the child. This will pique the child’s curiosity and eventually he/she may want to read on his/her own.

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By reading, a child gathers information about his/her environment, learns the finer nuances of language, enriches his/her vocabulary, learns to listen, think and process information. These qualities are very important for young and school going children. If you encourage this habit, a time will come when your child will fall in love with books.

Talk to the child

One way of developing the child’s interest in language is by talking to your child. Talking can be a multi faceted activity comprising of storytelling, asking questions, singing songs and nursery rhymes and telling the child what you are doing or thinking. This will develop your child’s interest in vocabulary and the use of words and will pave the way for effective reading.

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Make Reading A Fun Activity

One way of making reading fun is to read different kinds of stories to the child. Read all kinds of material from bedtime stories, magazines, newspapers and fairy tales. Read with drama and excitement. Point out the words to the child as you read, as this will enable your child to make an association between what is being spoken and what is being written. If your child is interested in books, get more and more books for him/her.

Read Everyday

Once your little toddler starts to show interest in books, start reading on a daily basis. Take out special pockets of time and choose a special place where you will read to your child. Choose smaller time spans especially since young children tend to get distracted very easily. Smaller ten-minute sessions are more important.

Set An Example

Children often emulate their parents so it is very important for you to show an active interest in reading yourself. Get more books into the house and let your child watch you read. This will eventually pave the way to development of effective and fruitful reading habits in your child.

Photo Credit: Bobbooks.com/blog/?p=176