5 top tips for helping your child learn to read

Whether you have a keen toddler ready to read their first words as soon as possible or a school-aged reluctant reader who needs a gentle nudge, there are plenty of simple ways to help your child learn to read at home.

In this blog, we’re sharing some ways that you can help young children with their reading. And don’t forget, the key is to be patient. Just like any other developmental milestone, children learn to read at different ages and some progress faster than others.

Top tips for helping your child learn to read:

1. Use singing and nursery rhymes to help with sounds
Singing songs and nursery rhymes are a great way to introduce language to your child. Songs have lots of sounds, rhyme and alliteration, which is a fab introduction to phonics (letter sounds).
Clapping along to songs is also a good way to learn the rhythm of words and phrases.

2. Look for language and reading opportunities wherever you are
When your child is just starting to read, there are opportunities to practice everywhere. Reading doesn’t just have to come out of a book. It might be reading signs in the supermarket or street signs, pointing out words when you watch television shows, looking at magazines, or helping to read instructions to cook something or make something.

3. Make time to listen to your child
To help your child’s vocabulary and understanding of words, one of the easiest things you can do is make time to listen to them. Whether that’s reading a book out loud, listening to them sing, or simply having a chat as you wander along, being interested in what your child has to say encourages them to use more words.

4. Point out words as you read
When your child starts to show more of an interest in the books that you are reading, start by pointing out simple words on the page as you read them so your child can begin to associate what they see with the sound it makes. If there are pictures, point those out while you are reading the words to help children associate the two.

5. Share the reading
Once your child is getting more confident, you can start sharing the reading. Encourage them to read the words that they recognise in each sentence or alternate, so you read one or two lines, and then they do. The older and more confident they get, the more they can do and the less you will need to read. Once they start school, they will probably bring reading books home. Then, it’s nice to make your reading session a two-part thing. Your child can read their school book to you, and then you can read a chosen book (something above their reading level but a story you both enjoy) to them.

Having a variety of books in your home is a great way to encourage your child’s reading habits. And Book Box can help with that. Just sign up for our children’s subscription, let us know your child’s age and stage and their interests, and we’ll send you a selection of books each month that you will love to read together.