When nothing else works, try this for reading progress

I often hear this from parents whose children are struggling with reading..

“I feel so guilty, I know I should have read to him more when he was younger.”

“I was so much better about reading with my other kid.”

“I’d read to her more if I wasn’t so busy. She’s struggling because of me.”

I get it.. you feel guilty about not reading to your child enough, not spending enough time on reading skills, or not playing enough reading games. You’re extra hard on yourself because your kid is having a hard time.

What if I told you none of that matters as much as you think?

For some kids, no amount of being read to will make them a better reader. Some kids simply won’t learn to read when a parent or loved one is reading to them – no matter how much exposure they get!

This is because 65-70% of kids learn to read through read alouds and 30-35% of kids learn to read through explicit phonics instruction.

Your child might be part of the third of kids who learn to read differently than their peers. Just like some artists draw beautifully without lessons and some equally talented artists take lessons their whole lives, some children will learn to read on their parent’s lap and others will only learn to read through explicit, skill-based instruction.

Teaching phonics is not something the average parent knows how to do. It has to be taught in a very specific way. Often, our schools don’t have the resources or training to provide this high level of instruction.

So, let yourself off the hook and seek out explicit instruction for your kid. With some skills-based instruction, your kid will be off to the (reading) races in no time!