Ever since you were a child, getting lost in the imaginary world of your favourite storybooks has been one of your favourite past times. And as the years have gone on, it’s become a hobby that has grown and developed.

Now that you have a daughter who’s reaching the same age that you were when you discovered your love for reading, you’re hoping that she’ll follow in your footsteps. You know from personal experience how much reading has helped you, and how important it is for a person to foster this skill set as early on in life as possible.

Reading is certainly one of the most key skills a child will develop as they grow. But many parents don’t know the best ways to help their child’s reading skills from home and want to do everything they can to help their little one develop in this area.

If you can relate to this, then we’re here to outline the best strategies you can utilise to help your child build on their reading skills. Remember that teaching your child to read is a process, so don’t get too frustrated if they take a little longer to pick things up. Be patient, keep persevering, and remember that they will get there in the end!

So, what are some ways I can help my child’s reading skills at home?

Understand that teaching literacy is similar to teaching other essential skills. It’s common for parents to feel like they’re not equipped to teach their children skills such as reading, as it’s technically an academic skill that they will build on in a school environment. But it’s important you understand that teaching your child reading skills isn’t actually much different from teaching them how to eat with a fork or spoon. It doesn’t require you to be overly educated to pass on this skill set, it just takes persistence, patience, and practice! After all, generations of parents have been teaching their children to read since the beginning of time, so don’t ever feel like you’re not qualified to do so. Instead, enjoy the beautiful journey of helping your child with their reading skills and seeing their abilities blossom.

Talk to your child a lot. When your child was a baby, you may have thought it a little silly to narrate your every move and action to them, as you may have felt they were still too young to understand. However, regularly talking to your child in their early years can be exceedingly helpful in developing their reading and literacy skills. This is because the more exposure your child has to hearing and picking up language, the more easily they will find it to recognise words on the page.

Read to your child. Reading to your child is perhaps the best and most effective way to help them develop solid reading skills. This is because it allows them to become more exposed to a wider range of vocabulary that is often richer than any spoken words they will hear from the adults around them. Try to develop a habit of reading to your child for at least 30 minutes daily. If your first language isn’t English, then playing your child audiobooks can be a good alternative.

Here are some suggestions for types of books to read to your child:

Songbooks.

Bible stories/psalms.

Alphabet books.

Rhyming books.

Picture books.

Have your child tell you a story. Having your child tell you a story or recount their experience of a particular event can be a fun and interactive way of helping them gain reading skills from home. To do this, have your child dictate the story to you, then help them read it aloud. If you can see they are having trouble saying certain words, pointing to them as they are dictating the story may help. This exercise is not only fantastic for your child’s growing reading abilities, but also for their communication, creativity, literacy development, and overall love of language.

Teach your child phonemic awareness. At this age, your child won’t have the ability to hear sounds within words. For example, they may hear the word “dog”, but won’t hear the sound or phonemes of “duh-aw-guh”. A huge part of making your child a reader is teaching them how to learn the phonemes or sounds in words - however, it shouldn’t be the main focus when helping them develop reading skills.

How to help your child's reading skills at home (Part 1)