📚 How to Support Your Child’s Reading at Home (Without the Battles)

Reading at home is often imagined as a cosy moment, your child curled up beside you, enjoying a story together. But in reality, it can become a daily struggle. Parents feel unsure about how much to help, children feel pressure to get everything right, and something that should feel joyful slowly becomes stressful. After years of teaching Early Years and Key Stage One, I’ve learned that reading progress comes from small, simple habits rather than long sessions or complicated strategies.

One of the most effective things you can do is keep reading sessions short and predictable. Children cope far better with five calm minutes every day than with a long, exhausting weekly read. Pair reading with an existing routine: after a snack, before bed, or even first thing in the morning, so it feels natural rather than forced. When you begin, give your child a moment to warm up. Starting with a few familiar words, finding a particular sound on the page, or spotting repeated words gives them confidence before tackling new text. Children read better when they feel successful from the start.

The hardest part for adults is often learning to pause. When your child gets stuck, it’s tempting to jump in immediately, but giving them a few seconds of thinking time makes a huge difference. Most children will find the answer themselves if they’re not rushed. If they still struggle, gentle prompts like “Try the first sound” or “Blend it slowly and see what makes sense” support them without taking over. This builds independence and resilience, which matter far more than racing through book levels.

Praise during reading should always focus on effort rather than perfection. Noticing that your child tried the first sound, didn’t give up, or reread a tricky sentence reinforces positive habits. Even confident readers need to be read to daily. Hearing rich language, expressive reading, and varied vocabulary strengthens comprehension and deepens their love of stories. It also helps children learn the rhythm and flow of language in a way that phonics alone cannot.

It’s also important not to rush your child ahead. Moving too quickly through reading stages can create anxiety and knock confidence. A child reading simpler books with enjoyment will often progress faster over time than a child pushed into higher levels before they’re ready. Reading should always feel like a connection rather than pressure. A cosy corner, a soft voice, and a relaxed atmosphere help children associate books with comfort rather than stress. What they will remember most isn’t how many words they got right, but how it felt to read with you.

If reading feels difficult right now, please know that it isn’t a sign of failure. Children learn at different speeds, and progress is rarely linear. Your patience, encouragement and presence have a far greater impact than you realise, and you’re already doing more than enough.

Top tip:

One of the most powerful ways to encourage children to read more is to give them a genuine choice. When children feel ownership over what they’re reading, whether it’s dinosaurs, princesses, space, animals, comics, or even the same favourite book for the fiftieth time, their motivation increases dramatically. Independent choice builds curiosity, strengthens confidence and makes reading feel like a pleasure rather than a task. Even if you’re focusing on school books for decoding, try pairing them with a “for fun” book your child chooses entirely on their own. When children feel that reading belongs to them, everything else becomes easier.