Supporting your child with reading

Reading is an essential skill that opens doors to learning, creativity, and success. As a parent, you play a key role in encouraging your child’s reading habits and helping them develop a rich vocabulary. Whether your child is a passionate reader or finds reading challenging, here are some practical tips to support their reading journey at home and beyond

Make books easy to find and include a variety of materials—novels, newspapers, magazines, comics, and even song lyrics. A wide range of options helps your child explore their interests and keeps reading exciting.

Try to establish a daily reading routine, even if it’s just 10 to 15 minutes. Consistency helps build good habits and shows your child that reading is a valued part of everyday life.

Share books by reading aloud or taking turns. Discuss the story, characters, and what might happen next. Asking open questions helps develop comprehension and critical thinking skills.

Allow your child to select what they want to read—even if it’s newspapers, magazines, or song lyrics. These materials can build vocabulary and literacy skills in fun and relatable ways.

Turn daily experiences into learning opportunities. While out and about or on car journeys, point out shop names, advertisements, posters, and flyers. Talk about what the ads mean and the words used to catch attention. This makes reading relevant and spontaneous.

Try a grown-up version of “I Spy” like Word Detective—choose interesting words on signs or ads, guess their meanings, and use them in sentences. Or play the Synonym Challenge, finding as many synonyms as possible for a chosen word. These games make vocabulary learning fun and interactive.

Audiobooks and e-books can be great supplements to traditional reading, especially for children who enjoy stories but find text challenging.

Let your child see you reading newspapers, books, or online articles. Sharing your enthusiasm for reading can be contagious.

Praise your child’s reading efforts and celebrate milestones such as finishing a book or learning new words. Positive encouragement builds confidence.

Make trips to libraries and bookshops a fun outing. Many libraries offer reading clubs and events to spark interest.

Keep communication open with your child’s teachers to understand their reading development and receive recommendations for books or strategies to help at home.

At Archbishop Beck Catholic College, our Reading Hub offers a huge selection of books across all genres. Encourage your child to explore and borrow books that interest them. For more information or to get started, see Miss Hughes in the Reading Hub—she’s happy to help your child find the perfect read.