How to Teach Your Child to Read—3 Things to Beware of Before You Do

by Mary Follin
Want to learn how to teach your child to read at home? For most kids, it shouldn't be too difficult. What it takes is patience, consistency, and an easy-to-use program, all of which you have access to, right? No need to feel daunted by the task—parents are pretty good at figuring out what they need to do when they need to, and you're no different. 

You got this!

You might be surprised how easy it is to learn how to teach your child to read. But to make it even easier, be sure to keep the following 3 key things in mind.
how to teach your child to read
Wondering how to teach your child to read?

Wondering How to Teach Your Child to Read? These 3 Things Will Help You Get It Right.

Girl wonders how to teach your child to read?
How to teach your child to read
1) Choose Phonics
Science repeatedly tells us phonics is the best way to teach a child to read. Makes sense, doesn't it? After all, English is a phonetic language. Once a child learns the code, he or she can read words—even unfamiliar ones—by using the rules of phonics and sounding them out. Even if you never learned phonics as a child, you do read phonetically. Many people simply 'figure out' the code over time, whether they were specifically taught phonics or not.

But some children don't, and these are the kids who struggle. It may be apparent from the very beginning that there is a problem, or it may take some time to realize something's not working. You see, when a child doesn't know the code, they will try and 'guess' the words. Some kids are really good at this! But when the pictures go away and the words become more complex, 'guessing' stops working. Imagine how frustrating—and confusing—this would be for a child as they get older. 
2) Keep Your Lessons Short
To keep your child motivated, you don't want to hear a groan every time you say "time for your lesson"! Small children have short attention spans, and you probably have a LOT of other things to do. The good news is, your success rate will go way up in proportion to how short you keep your lessons. We recommend no more than 5 minutes per day. The beauty of phonics is that it can be easily compartmentalized into short micro lessons. When you commit to keeping the time short, you'll leave your small pupil wanting more. Using a phonics-based approach works fast. Within a few weeks, most children 'get it' and start picking out words on menus, in books, and on signs. Once this happens, they become quite dedicated to their lessons, as long as you keep them short. 
3) Let Your Child Set the Pace
When you are figuring out how to teach your child to read, you will probably do a lot of research on available programs. If a program feels too overwhelming or fast-paced to you, it will probably feel that way to your child. Children only get to be young once, a precious few years that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Please don't plant your child in front of a screen for long periods of time. No need to set goals for your child, either, since learning should be a reward in itself. And please, please don't show off your child's reading skills! It's amazing how many children can quickly learn to read at a young age, but when they have to perform for others, they may never lose the need for external praise to keep them motivated and feeling good enough. (And we all know how well that works. NOT.)
The bottom line on the 3 things to be aware of when figuring out how to teach your child to read? Use a phonics-based approach, keep the lessons short, and let your child set the pace. Click the button below to learn more about how Teach Your Child to Read™ can help you teach your child to read.
Learn How to Teach Your Child to Read!
Founder and creator Mary Follin started her career as a systems engineer with IBM. She's worked in product development, market research, and more recently provides marketing consulting to professional services firms. Beyond creating Teach Your Child to Read™, she is also the author of Ethyr, winner of the the Moonbeam Children's Book Award and the Gertrude Warner Book Award.

​Mary is also author, with Erika Guerrero, of the advice column ASK MOM, featured in Fredericksburg Parent & Family magazine and winner of a 2021 Parenting Media Association award. ​