Is your child not as confident in reading as their peers?
Or perhaps, they seem to have the necessary skills but simply won’t pick up a book?
There are many reasons why a child might be struggling to read or not want to read as often as they should be, and fortunately, there are solutions to most problems.
Learning to read is a fundamental part of a child’s development, so you need to act fast if your child’s reading is a concern.
Within the below blog, find out the top reasons why a child may be struggling to read. Plus, tips on how you can overcome each one.
A family history of reading challenges
If reading or learning issues such as dyslexia run in your family, then your child is much more likely to also be affected by one of these conditions. In fact, if you have one child with a reading issue, there is a 50% chance that their next sibling will have it as well.
The advantage of knowing that reading issues run in your family is that you can get your child the extra help they need from a young age, so they are much more likely to remain on track with their development.
Vision problems
Children who actively avoid reading both at school and at home and those that appear to have short attention spans may be struggling due to a vision problem. Other signs that all is not well with their eyes are frequent eye rubbing or blinking, complaining of feeling tired and frequent headaches.
If you suspect your child has a vision problem take them for an eye check at the local optometrist or your family doctor.
If your child spends a long time in front of a screen such as the TV or a tablet, this can also affect their vision and cause the above symptoms. As well as limiting their screen usage, you may also want to find out if they could benefit from computer eye strain glasses.
They don’t like the books
If your child can read well for their age, but they are not showing an active interest in reading, this may be because the books they are being given are not what they want to read about.
It may be that that they don’t like the format of the books or they don’t like the topic. It could even be that the books are not challenging enough for them and so they are becoming bored easily.
If you think this may be the case for your child, a good idea is to take to them to local library or book store and let them pick out some books for themselves.
Their reading routine is inconsistent
Children thrive on routine, so you need to make sure that you are sitting down and listening to them read regularly (ideally daily). Although your child may complain at first, as most do with a new schedule, once they come to expect some quiet time to read at a specific time each day, you should find that they start to enjoy the activity a lot more.
