Hansa Parashar
Procedure of Instilling Reading Habits in your child
Introducing and engaging your child in reading practice from his/her early developmental years can prove to be extremely fruitful. As they are flexible in learning new things and are growing at a fast pace both physically and mentally therefore, the age between 2.5 to 4 years is the best time for beginning with the significant knack of reading.
- Recognizing the alphabets: First speak out the letter and then point out the letter with your finger or a pencil. As children through modelling or imitating their parents, ask them to repeat the letter and then point it out in the same manner as you did. For example, pronounce ‘A’ and then point it in the book or a chart.
- Purchase books of cursive writing to make the child understand the pattern of the formation of an alphabet, provide the child with charts or toys which have inbuilt pronunciation of letters or words.
- Play the game of letters to words: In this game tell your child the word that can be formed from a letter. For example: ‘B’ for ‘Ball”, ‘C’ for ‘Cat’ etc.
- Mark it to start it: Quiz your child into spotting all the words with a marker to highlight in the book or the chart that he has learned till date. This will also make his/her memory sharper.
- Availability and utility of reading games: Rejoice the game of Scrabble, rhyming games along with your child so that he gets emotionally attached to the habit of reading and comprehends its importance as his/her parents are involved in it.
- Read your child short poems and gradually move onto reading short stories with them every day.
- Reading aloud: Motivate your child to read aloud all the words, phrases and sentences so that his reading ability can be reinforced.
- Reward your child with words such as ‘Good’, ‘Good going’ whenever he/she reads and speaks the words etc. correctly and give them more time on the areas where he/she lacks.
Continuous and comprehensive assessment of your child’s reading abilities will do wonders in his long-term success. Repetition of the above-mentioned strategies on the regular basis can prove to be highly yielding.
Reading helps to understand other emotions, experiences, situations and predominantly ourselves and life. It makes us a lifelong learner and humbler.
