Advice History

Reading happens very naturally for some children, while others may struggle.  Most parents are extremely concerned with this facet of learning, as it can seem like everything hinges on a child's ability to read. There are, however, many ways that children learn and every child learns to read at a different pace.

The best way to encourage a child to read is to read to them. Read, read, read. And model reading -- let your children see you reading the newspaper, books, magazines and more.

As kids learn their alphabet and the sounds of the letters, they also begin to put some letters together and begin learning sight words. Don't be surprised when you are driving down the street and your child yells out, "Hey, there's McDonalds." Although they probably can't read the word "McDonalds" in any other context, they can read the sign on the golden arches because they have memorized the context of the word, i.e., the golden arches.  In the same vein are sight words, these are some of the simpler, more common words in our language that we read more repetitively.  Many of these words are also words that aren't phonetically correct such as "the" or "one." You can encourage your child to learn these words as you read to them. As they get older and start making sense of the sounds of each letter, begin asking them what letter they think words start with. A good way to do this is by using their name. For instance, if their name is Billy, ask what other words start with a B. It will be a fun game for them and they will be learning as well.