If you’re a parent with children who are having difficulties learning to read, here are some reasons why that might be and tools to help.
According to UNICEF, 40% of students less exposed to foundational reading usually struggle to master it. The report further indicated that the socio-economic status of the child’s immediate environment often plays a role in this.
Undoubtedly, unmanaged reading difficulty can negatively impact a child’s literacy development.
This is why it is vital to take proactive steps to help children learn how to read.
Unsure where to start? I’m here to help!
As you might know, I am a bestselling wellness author with about 2 million books sold globally.
Plus I founded a groundbreaking video course called The Anxiety Cure.
I love sharing insights and strategies to help people to be happier and calmer – especially during challenging times. So I put together this article with actionable tips to help parents who discover their children are having difficulties learning to read.
Below is a discussion on why some children experience difficulties in reading. You will notice that many of these suggested steps include employing the use of repetitions to learn.
This is the ability to recognize individual sounds of the English alphabet. Apart from identifying these sounds, phonemic awareness also involves manipulating separate sounds when speaking or reading. The connection and blending of different sounds to form a word become the foundation for reading. This is what is referred to as phonemic awareness. It may seem too much to comprehend for a young mind. Thankfully, it is easier to work around when kids are taught phonics early in life.
Unfortunately, some children struggle with this phonemic awareness due to several reasons. They might have been introduced to phonemes (individual alphabet sounds) very late, which accounts for the difficulty. They may also lack confidence in pronouncing words, contributing to the absence of phonemic awareness. As a teacher, parent, or guardian helping a child read, glossing over a child’s phonemic awareness can be detrimental to their reading progress.
Constant reading helps build vocabulary, instils communication confidence, and, most importantly, increases the passion for books. Access to quality reading materials is crucial for generating interest in reading among kids. On the other hand, its lack can damage a child’s literary progress. This explains the need to keep interesting and educational reading books within reach of these kids. Note that the child’s age will determine the type of books you stock up on.
The last thing you want to do is kill any budding reading interest in your child because you failed to make age-appropriate reading materials accessible. You can get a bookcase or a tall sideboard cabinet at home and create a small library, so keep this in mind. The more accessible these books are, the more interest your child will have in reading.
When English is not a child’s first language, they may encounter difficulties learning to read. The unfamiliarity with the new language (English) can sometimes become a major turn-off for some young ones. In this case, they will have to learn the fundamentals of word structure in English. While it is not cast in stone that only native English speakers read well, familiarity with the language often aids in quicker progress.
It takes constant practice to master reading, and until you help your child with it, they may grow to dislike it. Moreover, learning to read is the foundation of literary development. Therefore, do all you can to build that essential base.
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