Top Mistakes Parents make when Teaching their Child to Read

Here are the top three mistakes parents often make when teaching their child to read:

1.  Pushing Too Hard, Too Soon: Pressuring children to read before they're ready can lead to frustration and a negative association with reading. It's important to gauge your child's interest and readiness, introducing reading in a fun and relaxed manner.  Point out signs in your neighborhood or grocery store, practice with magnet letters spelling their name, provide talking books or stories they can listen to any time.

2.  Focusing Solely on Books: Limiting reading practice to books only can make the process feel rigid and boring. Incorporating a variety of reading materials like comics, magazines, menus, and signs can make reading more engaging and enjoyable for your child.

3.  Neglecting Phonemic Awareness: Jumping straight to reading whole words without building a strong foundation in phonemic awareness (the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words) can hinder progress. Spend time on phonics games, rhyming activities, and sound matching to develop these essential skills.  Singing songs together is a great way for your child to hear the sounds in words!