Do you have difficulty motivating your child to read? Are your subtle or not-so-subtle nudges for your child to read met with moans, groans or complaints?
It can be difficult motivating your child to read when it’s so hard for them. As a parent, it can be frustrating seeing your child struggle to read.
Here are 3 tips for motivating your child to read when it’s so hard for them.
1. Make Reading a Shared Experience
One way to motivate your child to read is to make reading a shared experience. It may be frustrating for your child to read by him or herself and struggle through each page on your own. You can make reading a shared experience by reading one page and inviting your child to read the next page. Or, you can look for a family-friendly book club to join together.
Making reading a shared experience gives you an opportunity to spend time with your child and adds a fun element to reading!
Numerous studies find that reading with children at a young age also helps them bond with their parents, develop empathy, and begin to understand the world around them, according to a Washington post article.
Shared reading experiences expose children to new words and expand their vocabulary as well as develop listening, spelling and reading comprehension skills, according to an article by The Conversation, a news publication focusing on the academic and research community.
These experiences don’t have to end with bedtime stories. You can create and engage in shared reading experiences with your children no matter their age!
2. Keep Your Reading Materials Diverse!
Often, when children think about reading, they think about it in terms of books. The thought of reading a thick book may not excite them. But, they may get excited about reading articles in a magazine about their latest hobby!
When children realize that opportunities to read are everywhere, they may become more interested in reading. Encourage your children to read menus, movie descriptions, magazine articles and board game instructions. This will help them understand that reading is an essential part of life and that it can be enjoyable!
3. Let Them Choose Reading Material That Interests Them
Another way to encourage your child to read is to let them choose reading material that interests them.
Letting students choose their own books boosts confidence, improves reading achievement, and encourages them to become engaged readers, according to a Western Michigan University study.
Take them to a library and let them choose several books they’d like to read! Children are more likely to be interested in reading when they play an active part in choosing what they read.
If your child has difficulty reading, he or she may need additional help. The Roig Academy offers a specially designed reading program for struggling readers. The program, which includes Orton-Gillingham ideas, breaks down reading and spelling into smaller skills.
It also takes a multi sensory approach where instructors use sight, hearing, touch and movement to help students make connections between letters, words and language. This approach is considered the gold standard for helping students with dyslexia learn to read.
If you have a child with ADD, dyslexia, or executive function disorder, we’d love to chat with you. The Roig Academy’s approach to learning is designed for each and every student, not all students.
We cater our approach to every student’s strengths and needs to teach them in way that suits their unique learning style. We have a pre-school for students ages 2, 3, and 4 as well as a day school for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Contact the Roig Academy today to learn more.
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You can also contact admissions at 305-235-1313.