The day was going so well. Virtual learning was successful. The grades are good…great, actually. On the surface, there is a healthy, smart, successful kid. No worries, right? Then the evening hits, technology is banished and the nightly reading is scheduled to begin. This is when the fight ensues. “I HATE READING!” and, later, “Why do I have to read?”

The reality sets in, and parents ultimately find themselves admitting the terrible truth: “My child hates to read.” The fight may be even more frustrating to the parent if the child is a capable reader. Why is reading such a battle? Reading is fun! Parents who love books may be absolutely dumbfounded that the fight is even a fight.

There are many discussions about struggling readers and how to help them. Parents may be advised to talk to the teacher, take the child to the pediatrician and seek out evaluations and possibly referrals to specialists or even hire a tutor. When a child is a good reader, when that child tests well on standardized reading tests and excels in school, there may be few resources to help a parent when that child hates to pick up a book.

How can a parent get a child who hates reading excited about books? The answer isn’t so simple. The underlying problem of the disdain for reading, though, could be attached to other issues. One of the simplest reasons for loathing literacy may simply be that the child views reading as homework.

Remember the Book Report?

From the time most children enter kindergarten, reading nightly is an expectation. Typically, the assignment is 20 minutes. Some schools may encourage children to take quizzes about the books they read to help gauge understanding. What’s ultimately missing from the way parents—and maybe even teachers—now handle reading, however, may be the fun.

Decades ago, kids often were expected to read a specific number of fiction and nonfiction books as part of their instruction and reading curriculum. After completing the book, the child had to write a book report that summarized the book and maybe even included commentary on why the child liked or didn’t like the story. There was a sense of accountability with this type of instruction, but there also was a bit of open-ended leniency for children.

Many kids could read any book they wanted from the fiction/nonfiction categories (although, some schools might have had restrictions). Books were sometimes read in class, but, often, they were finished at home. While some schools still use book reports in their reading curriculum, others have dropped them.

Reading Expectations: Stop the Clock!

At home—in ye olden times of the ‘60s, 70s and ‘80s—there were no reading timers. No set minutes. There was simply the understanding that the child had to finish the book and write about it. That book report, while a homework assignment, provided an opportunity for kids to process what they read and think about the book. It opened up a bilateral discussion between the child and the teacher. The takeaway was simple: this is what I read and this is why I liked it.

Are discussions about what a child reads at home part of the reading journey at school? That may depend on the school district and the teacher. However, these earliest years may be crucial in framing whether a child learns to either love or loathe books. Clocking minutes could lend to love, but it also could lead to serious disdain.

How is a parent supposed to help a child with no reading struggles to learn to love to read? How can anyone teach that—a love of stories? Maybe the best solution is to simply stop the clock. Stop nagging nightly. This doesn’t mean kids shouldn’t meet their teacher’s expectations—they absolutely should and must. However, when the clock stops running and a child is engrossed in the book, the time limits won’t matter—they will be hit.

Tips to Help Kids Like Reading

What works for one child might not work with another, but there are a few tips for parents who want help transform their child’s hatred of reading into at least a mild like.

1.   Set page goals. Sit down with your child and create reasonable goals for their book. This allows them to see an endpoint. Kids who read 20 minutes each night without any direction but time may just read one or two pages and run out the clock.
2.   Let them pick their books. If a child isn’t interested in a book, why would they get excited to pick it up every night?
3.   Ask them questions about what they liked and what they didn’t. Embrace the old days of the book report. It’s ok if a child hates a book that they’ve read. Not every story or character appeals to everyone.
4.   Make sure children aren’t reading beyond their level. Talk to your child’s teacher if you need more info about individual reading levels.
5.   Read together as a family. Kids need to see parents reading. Make books and read a nightly part of everyone’s routine. Gather in the living room and quietly read.

Some kids—and adults—may simply not love books. However, the more a child reads, the better they may become at reading. Even if a child reads at grade-level and meets (or even exceeds) expectations, failure to read regularly could cause them to fall behind. 

Help transform the reading routine into something that doesn’t resemble homework; stop the clock, and work on ways to help children embrace the books. Parents also need to put down their own devices, pick up a book, and read, too. Set the example, show kids that reading is a journey and help them discover that some of the greatest adventures exist within the binding of a book.

Digital learning is becoming ingrained into virtually every educational curriculum in America. Using digital tools to help my son with reading comprehension is a great way to prepare them for formal education, while improving their reading routine at home.

How your child interacts with the story can make a significant difference in their success and understanding as they’re learning to read.

Read on for five easy ways to help your child with reading comprehension using technology.

1. Help your child draw conclusions.

Reading comprehension skills are essential for piecing together essential pieces of the story, and sometimes new readers need a bit of help to connect the dots.

Your child can get more information out of the first read through by helping them identify the parts they know, which will bring more clarity to the aspects of the story they don’t quite understand.

A great way to help your child make connections as they’re reading is to draw attention to places, subjects, and characters that they might understand based on their own life experience. Tapping into knowledge they already have helps the reader dig deeper into the subject matter, which will improve their comprehension of the story as a whole.

2. Ask (and answer) questions about the story.

Another effective way to boost reader understanding is to ask your child questions before, during, and after reading a story.

Using questions to spark emotion from the reader is an ideal tactic for making children more invested in what they’re consuming.

Consider asking your child questions like:

• What do you think will happen next?
• How does XYZ character/place/action make you feel?
• How is the character feeling?
• Why did the character make that choice?

This strategy puts the child in the driver’s seat, and helps them control the lesson without hindering the learning process.

3. Use sensory tools.

All children learn differently, and sensory cues play a major part in the divide. Auditory, visual, and tactile learners will respond better to teaching styles that support their learning method.

Learning aids like mind maps, organizational charts, and drawings will resonate with learners who respond best to visual information. On the other hand, using clay or repeating thoughts out loud might work better for children who process information differently.

Visualization is another effective tool that can help confused readers identify key elements in the story.

Play around with different tools and techniques until you find something that works for your young reader’s unique needs.

4. Look for and identify context clues.

Making connections is the single most difficult part of learning reading comprehension for most new readers. Sometimes a little push in the right direction is all they need to connect critical elements of the story, especially if there are words that are new or unfamiliar to the reader.

Re-reading specific sentences and pointing out words that your child seems to struggle with can help their confidence, while bringing more attention to the context of the story.

Also bring attention to the words that precede and follow the terms that your child is having trouble with. All of these elements can help your son or daughter with reading comprehension by giving them more background information that they can take with them to the next story.

5. Review and check for understanding.

Repetition and review is proven to improve cognitive understanding and learning efficiency across the board. When it comes to learning how to read, this step couldn’t be more important.

After your child is finished with a passage, talk about what was covered in the new material. Also discuss how this portion of the story fits in with the rest by asking contextual questions such as:

• How did ___ character accomplish ___ task?
• What emotions did ___ character express in the story?
• At what point did ___ character reach their goal of ___?

Repetition and review are successful teaching tactics that have been proven to help students across all styles and learning preferences. This method can also help them in their other school subjects by building an internal thought process that promotes inquiry and problem solving.

Reviewing questions and themes you discussed earlier in the lesson is a great way to tie everything together. This will also help your child read by retaining key information after they finish any story.

Reading comprehension is essential for any new reader to advance their educational plan. If you’ve mentioned to yourself “I don’t know how to help my son with reading comprehension,” consider taking the measures above to speed up their learning process.

By fourth grade, many children are reading chapter books. This could be a time when kids are discovering their own unique reading personalities and uncovering favorite authors, genres and characters. Some children may struggle to keep track of the plot lines of longer books and parents may worry about reading comprehension struggles.

If you’re wondering: “How can I help my 4th grader with reading comprehension?” there may be other concerns as well. Parents might not know if a book is just too hard for their child or if there are underlying issues like a learning disability or simply a deeper reading struggle. A child’s struggles affect how a parent can better help them at home.

Readers who have more profound reading struggles may need further evaluations, and parents should, ideally, be in touch with the school and the child’s teacher to address these concerns. Parents also could contact the child’s pediatrician.

However, for children who are simply struggling with more complex plot lines (and who, perhaps, do not have pronounced reading struggles), here’s how parents can support their fourth grader at home.

Don’t Just Look at the Age-Level of the Text, Review the Subject, Too.

Sometimes the quickest solution is also the easiest. If your fourth grader is trying to read a book that might be assigned in high school, they may not have the emotional understanding to comprehend the story. Many books include text that may, technically, be written at a fourth-grade level but the subject matter is beyond the maturity of that age group.

This is how “age-level” text can work against parents who don’t look beyond the reading level. Just because a child can decode the text doesn’t mean they can fully grasp the nuances, especially if the subject and emotional issues of the book are aimed at an older audience. Younger children also might not yet have the life experiences to understand the book’s topic or plot complexities.

If your child is struggling to understand the meaning, do a quick deep-dive of the book and figure out if the subject is at level with their age.

As a side note, some children may be able to understand both the text and the topic. A fourth-grader could read complex and mature books; when choosing books, every child is different. Their personalities and understanding of the world differ, too.

Delete Distractions

We’ve all been in situations where we’ve had to read something over and over again to grasp the meaning. Sometimes this has nothing to do with ability and everything to do with distractions in our environment.

Where a child reads could affect their comprehension of the material, especially if the child is easily distracted. A blaring television, parents talking, and songs on the radio could be distracting a child from focusing on a story.

Help your child find the ideal reading environment so they can lock on to their book and focus their attention on the characters and plot. Noise cancelling headphones could help, too!

Let Kids Pick Their Book

By fourth grade, some teachers may begin assigning books for the class to read. However, when a child has free reading time, let them choose the book. If a child is resistant and reluctant to read, have them create an interest list to find subjects that they like and want to investigate. Parents can even theme interest lists for holidays.

For Halloween, ask kids what scary or unique Halloween topics they find interesting. Are they curious to learn more about the Salem witch trials, the history behind trick-or-treating or maybe they want to learn how Halloween even started as a holiday. Don’t celebrate Halloween? Parents can pick a religious holiday, too, or a day that’s special in the family’s culture. The idea is to get kids thinking about their interests and all the ideas they can learn from books!

Make a Reading Comprehension Bookmark

In fourth grade, kids may or may not like parents sitting with them and asking questions about the book. To ensure kids focus on the ideas behind the story, though, parents can create a reading comprehension bookmark. These page setters also provide prompts on what kids need to think about as they read. The comprehension bookmark could focus on the “wh” questions or maybe prompt kids to think about the story plot.

Parents can get ideas on how to create these bookmarks by visiting Teachers Pay Teachers; the site has many great examples! Parents also might want to let kids craft their own bookmark.

Use a Reading App

If a child is really struggling with comprehension, parents also can use a reading app at home. Readability provides an integrated AI tutor that provides auditory feedback when a child stumbles during reading lessons; the virtual tutor also asks questions about the story to better gauge understanding. Kids move through lessons at their own pace, and stories are never too easy or too difficult. Parents can even monitor their child’s progress via the Parent Dashboard; not only can parents review reading levels, but they also can see how long a child used the app each day.

Parents can try out Readability with their child for free for seven days; the trial period provides children with access to all the content and features of the app. Sign up for your child’s free trial today!

Although all kids are taught to read in school, not all of them actually enjoy reading. However, many studies support the idea that reading often and for fun can help improve children’s academic performance in all subjects.

Reading has shown to help improve language skills such as writing and speaking, critical thinking skills, and even math skills. With all the benefits of reading, many parents might search for “how to help my kid read every day”.

Reading every day, even for just 20 mins, can help your kid improve their reading skills and also helps to get them to actually enjoy reading. Here are some tips to get your child to read every day and actually enjoy it:

•  Schedule family reading time 

Reading as a family is a great way to bond with your children, but also helps them to see how much you enjoy reading. This helps give them a model for good reading habits. 

• Use a reading app 

A reading app is a great interactive way to help your child actually enjoy reading.

A great overall reading app is Readability which operates as a private tutor for your child.

The app has the option of being used like an audiobook so that it reads the story to your child as they follow along, or the app can even listen to your child as they read the story then provides them error correction and feedback.

Readability is great for you as well because it provides progress reports so that you can keep track of your child’s improvements.

•  Provide different books with different reading levels 

One reason your kid could be discouraged or not motivated to read is that they are not getting the right books for their reading level.

You want to provide a wide variety of reading materials.

Of course, you want to have books that are in your child’s reading level but you also want to provide books that are just one or two levels above. This helps keep your child motivated to read and prevents them from getting bored. 

•  Let your child pick books 

If your child is picking the books they are reading, they will be more motivated and invested in actually reading them.

The next time you and your kid go book shopping let them choose a couple of books themselves. You can also work together to find books that are about things that interest them such as their favorite tv show, characters, or sports team. 

• Create a reading nook

Creating a space specifically for reading can help your child focus. Having a designated area also helps them to put value in reading as an important habit to keep up. 

• Turn your child into the teacher 

Your child might have some fun reading to a younger sibling to help them learn to read. You can even have your child teach you a few things about reading. When your child is teaching, they are actually learning and practicing the skill even more.

•  Read to them and with them 

Many parents already read to their kids, but it could be another great practice to take turns reading. Instead of reading an entire story to your child, take turns reading one page or paragraph. 

• Laugh out loud 

Using humor can help your child want to read more and more. Select books in your child’s reading level that are funny and read one page to them to get them interested. Then, if they want to continue the story, encourage them to read the rest of the story on their own. 

•  Listen to audiobooks 

Audiobooks can help create a multisensory experience when it comes to learning to read. Reading is often taught in one way.

However, not all kids learn by simply staring at words on a page. They need a more well-rounded approach.

Audiobooks can help encourage reluctant readers to practice reading on their own. Instead of turning on the radio in the car, you can have your kids listen to an audiobook during the drive. 

•  Give them a break 

A key tip for getting your child to read every day is to let them take breaks when they need it. Forcing your child to read when they want to will only make them more resistant to reading. Let them take a break to help encourage them to come back to the activity on their own.

If you want to raise an avid reader, you have to come up with ways to keep reading interesting and fun for them. Different strategies such as using books of different reading levels or creating a reading nook can help make reading fun for your child. Incorporating technology such as audiobooks or apps like Readability can help make reading more interactive, so your child will want to read every day.

Taking action to make sure that your child can read is one of the best things a parent can do to prepare them for the future. However, many aren’t sure exactly how to help a child read.

This is where our blog about reading comes in, helping parents to have the resources and skills they need to make sure their little one not only can read but actually enjoys reading. Enjoyment is the key to success in this situation.

Being able to read empowers children and adults, giving them access to unlimited knowledge and skills. It is also an important part of the education system.

That’s not to say they can’t learn without being able to read well, but that they might struggle to prove what they know if they can’t understand tests and texts used in assessment processes.

How can I help my child who is struggling to read?

The first thing you can do as a parent is to stop thinking about the issue and start acting. Many people worry about how early they should start to teach reading, but if you make reading fun, then you can start at any age.

The trick is to introduce and encourage reading as an enjoyable activity. Don’t drill your child, or force them to spend hours a day on reading. The last thing you want to do is to turn it into a chore.

Instead, take a more relaxed, fun, but also consistent approach to teaching and encouraging reading.

How to Help Your Child Read?

Here we will look at the simple steps that parents can take to help improve their child’s language acquisition. Doing so also helps to improve their reading. Here we give you useful tips to help your child read:

1.  Read to them – This helps them to learn more words and to be able to follow the book with parents. However, if for any reason the parent isn’t able to read themselves, reading apps and audiobooks can help. In that situation, it could be a beautiful shared experience to learn to read together.

2.  Talk to them – It is almost impossible to learn how words should be spoken without hearing how they sound. By talking to your child, even at an age where they don’t understand you or can’t reply, you are giving them the opportunity to absorb this knowledge over time.

3.  Don’t force them to move on to new things – Parents want their children to develop and to do as well as possible. When a child has a favorite book, parents often get bored with it or worry they aren’t learning enough. However, rereading is highly beneficial in teaching reading and repetition combined with familiarity will help them to learn the story’s words over time.

4.  Phonemic awareness is important – You can help make your child more aware of the sounds of letters (phonemic awareness) by breaking down words, or grouping similar words together. With time, it helps them to learn how to sound out words they can’t read, but can often recognize themselves once they know the sounds of the letters and can read it aloud.

5.  Read to each other – Allowing a child to try and read-aloud will enable parents, tutors, or our app to recognize where they are struggling. This can then be addressed with some appropriate feedback or repetition. When they hear it read to them, they may also make the connection with what they read and how it should be read.

How to Help My Child Read Today?

If you’re serious about encouraging them to read, you should try to make sure they have the resources and environment to read. It can also be worthwhile to speak with the school and local government should you consider they need considerable support in order to get them up to speed.

By resources, we mean lots of options for them to enjoy reading what they want to read. This can involve buying books they like, or providing them with our large app library so that they can choose what they want to read. Materials should be age and level appropriate so that they don’t struggle too much.

The environment should also be comfortable and fun. Think about creating a reading corner or reading cave, a place they enjoy and want to be in, and a place where they can relax and be left alone if they want to be.

With this all in place, reading will (with time) become a fun and relaxing activity for them and they’ll likely forget all about the struggles.

By first grade, your child is already learning so much and reading so much! Their reading skills are improving and advancing day after day.

In order to maintain their reading skills and for them to continue improving, it is important to find effective ways to help your first grader read independently and actually enjoy reading on their own.

In first grade, your child is likely not ready to tackle chapter books just yet, but they are definitely able to read picture books on their own.

By the end of the school year, they would have over a hundred sight words they can identify. They should also be able to read simple sentences on their own as well as have improved their phonemic awareness. 

How can I help my first grader read independently?

Helping your child to improve these reading skills can help ensure they are reading at an appropriate level and also helps them to learn to read independently.

Here are some ways to help your first grader learn to read independently;

• Read as a family – Reading as a family can help you bond with your child, but it also helps them learn to read on their own.

Parents often read books to their children before bedtime. However, having your child read to you can actually help improve their reading skills even more. You can also take turns reading pages or sentences throughout the story.

• Use reading apps – Reading apps are a great tool to use to help improve your child’s reading skills.

There are tons of reading apps on the market so finding the right one that fits your child’s needs can be tricky.

We recommend having an app that helps with reading as a whole such as Readability and also another more specific app such as one that helps improve learning sight words.

Readability is a great overall app to have because it essentially is a private reading tutor for your child that they can access anywhere and at any time. The app provides tons of original stories and its library is constantly being updated, so your child will never run out of reading materials.

• Re-read books – Encourage your child to read books several times because this can help them to improve their vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.

Each time they read the same story they become more and more familiar with it and likely will be able to understand it better.

• Make a comic – Getting creative and actually playing around with a story can help your child improve their reading comprehension and help them understand stories on their own.

Creating a comic about the story they read can help them to understand the story better and also learn the structures of a story. Some kids also are visual learners and can understand stories better if they create a visual of it.

• Find books that interest them – A big part of getting your child to read independently and to actually enjoy reading is to give them reading materials they are actually interested in.

Young children have all kinds of interests and getting them a book about those interests can help them learn more and practice important reading skills.

At your next trip to the store, you should have your child pick books themselves so that they are more motivated to read them.

• Practice Sight Words – Sight words are the building blocks for new readers.

Increasing your child’s sight word vocabulary can help them be able to recognize words quickly and easily. By the end of first grade, your child should be able to recognize about 150 sight words.

Sight words are words that are often commonly used but also do not follow the usual spelling conventions or phonemic rules. Because these words might not follow the same pattern as other words, they must be memorized. 

• Be patient– Reading can be a difficult process for new readers.

First graders also are learning much more advanced reading skills and are beginning to read longer sentences and books.

If it takes your child time to read, give them that time. The most important thing is that they learn to enjoy reading because when they enjoy it they will want to read more and more.

Reading is an essential skill your child needs to learn. Getting them to read independently and actually enjoy reading can be difficult.

But with lots of practice and using tools such as Readability, your child will be able to read all on their own and have fun reading in no time.

If your child is able to read independently, they are able to understand a story better and also are able to learn new vocabulary words on their own.