Reasons Why Your Child May Not Be a Good Reader

Many children struggle with reading in school while others excel at a steady rate. The parents of children who do not do well in school learn to accept the fact that their child may not be the best reader. It becomes a problem when parents accept this fact and never challenge it. Many children have the ability to read well. There are many factors that influence a child's reading ability and these factors are often overlooked. If parents can recognize these factors at the onset, they can help to improve their child's reading greatly. Some reasons why children struggle with reading are included below.

1. The child's attitude may place them in conflict with reading. Children who go into reading with a negative attitude will not take themselves seriously. They will intentionally put minimal effort into reading. These children will start believing they are not good readers and will settle for less than satisfactory work.

2. The child is afraid to make mistakes and so does not work to their full potential. As children get older they become more conscious of the mistakes that they make in front of others. Children who are afraid to make mistakes might have been scolded or belittled by someone when they were reading or they might have been laughed at in class by their peers.

3. The child might have been introduced to too much too soon. It is possible that the child was made to read material that was too complex or that was too heavy a workload. These children now hold the ideology of reading being too overwhelming and difficult and give up before trying.

4. The child might lack motivation. The child might not have a supportive atmosphere at home like they do in school. Lack of support will cause the child to feel unmotivated. He will figure that since no one at home is pushing him to read or at least interested in hearing him read then it must not be very important. The child will not spend a great deal of time reading.

5. The child might have started off at too slow of a pace. The child might have been introduced to reading at a lower level then they should have started with. Children who start reading at a lower level will take much longer to catch up with their peers. These children will automatically be able to detect that they differ from their peers in reading which will then discourage them to keep reading.

6. The child might compare himself to other students in the class. There are three types of students in the classroom; the overachievers, the satisfactory achievers, and the underachievers. The overachievers will stand out in the classroom which will then cause the other children to feel neglected. These students will then start comparing themselves to the overachievers. This will place a damper on their confidence and will influence them not to try harder because they will never be as smart and successful as their peers.

7. The child might have poor study habits. The child might not have a home environment that nurtures their reading ability. Some parents leave it up to the child to learn what they can at school and to complete the homework by themselves at home. Every child of school age should have a set schedule at home when it comes to completing their homework. Parents should make sure that considerable time is spent on all parts of the homework and that the homework is complete before they go to school the next day. Parents should also make sure that the child practices the subjects that they have difficulty in.