Foster a Lifelong Love of Reading

This week is National Young Readers Week! I myself am looking forward to celebrating National Middle Age Readers Week, but I digress. Though reading is important at any age, reading at a young age can solidify a lifelong love of reading. However, for the population of children that find learning to read a challenge, early reading experiences often do not lead to a loving relationship. Here are a few simple tips designed to keep the struggling reader from filing for divorce prematurely.

Active Encouragement

Are you familiar with the game, “Misread the Word to Annoy My Parents”? No? That’s because there isn’t one! If your child is reading aloud to you and comes across an unknown word, provide him time to decode the word. Then, instead of applying undo pressure by uttering the curious phrase, “You know that word”, simply provide the word and move on.

Interest-Based Materials

Allow your child to choose reading material that is enjoyable to her, even if the reading level indicates it is appropriate for someone younger. Some of my favorite books are geared towards young adults, but I was a rebel and read them when I was an old adult.

That’s Not Natural

Reading is not a natural process (kind of like my dancing). Validate your child’s struggles by pointing out this fact, ideally after praising the effort it took to read a sentence, a paragraph or a full story. Something along the lines of, “What a nice job you did of reading The Cat in the Hat! Especially considering that it was only towards the end of the fourth millennium BC that the Egyptians created hieroglyphics to represent sounds.”

Read on my friends!

Nick Smith
Director, Brainspring Learning Centers