Reading is probably the most important skill that parents and schools can teach children. Reading is something that is needed to function successfully in this world. Parents who are serious about making sure their children get a good education in life can begin this process by doing many things at home that will support reading development. Research has said time and again that parental involvement is the key to children’s academic success, and reading skills are one indicator of that success. This article will provide some strategies for parents to help their children become excellent readers.

Parents can start the reading process as soon as the child is still in the womb, reading to them as much as possible. Research has said that this will improve language recognition skills. Additionally, parents can play music to help stimulate children while they are still in the womb. A father should continue reading to children after they are born. The goal for all parents should be to raise children who can read at whatever grade level or higher the child is in throughout their educational career.

Parents can also build reading readiness skills for young children while they are still at home. This can start at two or three years of age. A reading readiness skill for young children is helping them recognize pictures and different items. Children should be told what each item in the house is, as well as identify pictures in the house or magazines. The faster they can recognize items and images, the sooner they can start reading exercises. Another very important reading readiness skill is teaching children the alphabet. Teaching children to memorize their ABC’s is helpful, but also make sure children are familiar with writing their ABC’s on paper. This will help them read sooner and have a better understanding of the words. Another good strategy for learning the ABC’s and learning beginning words is to post the ABC’s on the child’s bedroom wall and/or put small words on the bedroom wall. Children will go to sleep looking at letters and words every night, what a powerful way to introduce children to reading.

Children are people and parents should treat them as such by talking to them a lot and allowing them to speak and respond to the best of their ability. This will help children develop a vocabulary that will contribute to their reading skills. The brain is also stimulated by sound, so the more you talk, the more stimulation. Parents can never talk too much with their children. The key is to allow the child to speak and respond as well. Allow children to express themselves and parents will see the development of their children.

In addition to reading readiness skills, children should be read to stories. Children love stories and allowing them to talk about those stories will eventually develop fluency with the language. Parents should find a story that their child considers a favor and read it over and over again. After a while, allow the child to read along with the parent. In no time, the child will be able to read the entire story and the reading journey will begin. Some of these techniques are simple but effective, and I have seen them work with my son.

Once the child has started reading, parents are ready to take reading to the next level. Parents should start buying books that are interesting to their children (children should be a part of this process) and buy a book shelf to put in the bedroom. Another strategy is for parents to buy a book and write their child’s name inside. This is a good technique for children to take ownership of reading by having their book with their name inscribed on it. Children will see the importance of reading by the actions of their parents.

The bedroom should become one of the rooms in the house conducive to reading for the child. Parents should make sure that the bedroom has plenty of reading material for the children. Parents should also start having an incentive for reading. Some parents allow their children to stay up a little later if they read. This is a good way to develop a love of reading for children.

Once the child has begun to read and the family is involved, enthusiasm for reading will increase. Family reading games or family reading nights can be used to keep the excitement going. The key is to keep this time fun and get the family involved. This is a time when you can allow children to read whatever they choose, including comics, cartoons, and whatever is of interest to them. Whatever reading material is used, parents should always have children explain verbally what is happening in the story they are reading. This is a good way to develop children’s comprehensive skills, which are just as important as reading.

Another strategy could be used when traveling in a car on a trip. Children can read the signs up and down the road. If parents have more than one child, poster reading can become a game and the one who reads the poster first wins. The key is to keep children reading and having fun. Additionally, parents can purchase audiobooks for children to listen to while riding in the car. Reading practice outside the home can be accomplished anywhere, including the doctor’s office, restaurant, or grocery store. Parents must continually find ways to assess and help their children to read.

Parents should also be aware that in order to develop good reading skills, children also need to develop a large vocabulary. This will go hand in hand with becoming an excellent reader. If kids don’t have homework assigned or parents want to give them extra homework, stores are full of workbooks that have vocabulary exercises for all ages. I recommend that parents purchase workbooks at the child’s grade level and above. The workbooks can be used whenever parents feel the need and/or in the summer when children have a lot of extra time. Or parents can find their own set of vocabulary words to give their child each week. When working on vocabulary, parents need to make sure that children can spell the word, sound it out, and put the word into a complete sentence.

If the child attends a school that gives a lot of homework, parents should make sure their child is doing the homework correctly and not give any extra homework at this time. Parents should always support the school and make sure the child keeps up with all homework. In those situations, the summer months may be a more appropriate time to give children additional work assignments. Parents need to realize that education is a 24-hour task and that the summer can be used for additional reinforcement of academic skills, as long as they are not overdone.

As children get older, they tend to want to do what adults do. This is a time when parents can accommodate children. Parents have subscriptions to various magazines, so why not find a magazine that interests the child and put a subscription in it’s name? The idea is to encourage children to read more. What better than having a magazine with the child as a subscriber? Once the parents encourage the child to read, their reading skills will take off.

Getting children to sign up for a library card is a must for all children. It is also important to take children to the library on a regular schedule. Parents should allow children to check out several books each time they visit and make sure they read them before returning them. A short technique to help children better understand the book is to ask them to write a one page essay about the book. This can be very difficult but very effective with reading comprehension.

Once your child becomes a good reader, have him read books one grade above his grade level. Make sure parents positively encourage children during this process. Children need encouragement and can build their confidence.

Another technique is to take the children to the bookstore and buy several books for them to read. Let them choose any book that interests them. Make sure they read the books and when they ask to go somewhere, take them to the bookstore and buy more books for them to read. Continue this process and the children will have plenty of books on their bookshelf. Children love to travel so going to the bookstore will become one of their favorite requests.

To ensure that children have a good role model, parents should read as much as possible in front of their children to demonstrate importance. Reading the newspaper every day during devotional time can be a great time to show importance. Also, playing games with children that require a bit of reading or vocabulary is another great way to help boost children’s reading skills. The bottom line is that the more a child reads, the better reader he or she will become.

The following list contains additional strategies to help children become excellent readers:

Parents can buy flashcards for children

Books and magazines must be visible in the home.

Reading books should be placed in the child’s book pack.

Children can read books and complete a parent book report.

Parents should allow quiet time each day for the family to read

Children can read aloud for better understanding. Children must sign up for the spelling bee.

Children must sign up to participate in plays at school or church.

Older children can practice reading with younger children.

Parents can assign a certain number of books to read each month

Children should read bible stories

Children should attend Sunday school and read aloud when appropriate.

Let the children read the newspaper.

Talk to your child’s teacher at school about reading skills

Ask the children to summarize in writing what they read

Ask children to verbally say what they read Provide lots of fun reading such as poems, jokes, comics, etc.:

Children should keep a written journal.

Two children can do an exercise in writing to each other.

The children must write letters to someone they know.

Children should attend museums, zoos and write about them. Re-read the material if the child does not understand it.

Ask the children to identify the characters in the story.

Have children write a one page essay about a book they have read

Buy reading games that can be used on the computer

Parents who get their children interested in reading will open up a whole new world for them and it can be very exciting. Children who like to read generally do well in school and have no trouble adjusting to society. Reading is involved in everything we do, and parents must be willing to do whatever they can to make sure their children are able to succeed in this world.