Many children struggle with reading -- comic books are OK, but don't give them a novel! In fact, it's a far more common challenge than most people realize.
We, in the education business, used to refer to students with reading difficulties as the 'slow' ones.
But now we've realized that reading difficulties can result from a host of other related issues.
And we've also noted that reading challenges don't always translate into weaknesses in other areas, such as Math, Science, or Art.
I prefer to think of these kids as having challenges with visual interpretation.
Many of them actually have physical problems within their eyes -- going cross-eyed, or tracking inequalities.
This means that the eyes actually read at a different rate, so the brain gets confused by the images it is receiving.
Dyslexia is a form of this type of difficulty.
Children with dyslexia often turn words inside out -- interpreting the word 'saw' as 'was', 'pit' as 'tip', etc.
So for these kids, reading is hard work.
And NOT fun! But there are ways to help your child enjoy reading, no matter how severe his current challenges are.
Here are a few tips to consider: First, read WITH your child.
That means sitting down with him at a regular time each day (just before bed is often good) and take turns reading a line at a time, or a paragraph, or -- as he gets better -- a page.
What this does is help him see the words and understand the context of the story that is being read.
Teach him or her to look at the visual clues in the book, pictures for example, to get a better take on what the story is about.
Wireless readers are great for doing this, so that you can scroll up and down easily.
Many of them offer audio clues as well.
Your child will appreciate it if you stop frequently to ask "Do you know what this word means?".
Second, stop when there is a word with three syllables, and break them down into smaller bits that he CAN recognize and pronounce.
A good example is the word 'diversity'.
Show your child that big words are made up of smaller words, and that he can break them up into little manageable pieces like this: 'di-ver-si-ty'.
Again, many of the electronic readers provide this option for your child.
You'll be pleased to see the light go on for your child each time he succeeds in doing this.
Third, make sure that the books you are reading with your child are interesting to him.
For example, last year, during one of my summer reading programs, I had a young boy of 11 who hated reading.
His mother thought that I might be able to help him see reading as fun, and not as 'work'.
I spent the first hour with him finding out what kinds of things he wanted to know about.
He told me that he wanted to know about astronauts.
We found several books that were mostly pictures, and then -- each time we visited the library, we looked for more and more books on the topic.
Eventually our research was used as a topic for a Grade 6 Science project.
He got top marks! Finally, there are many new tools and gadgets designed to make reading fun.
The new wireless readers are great.
We live in an age when e-books abound, and many are written for children.
Having a device like this enables children to read more, and you remember the old adage "practice makes perfect".
The more your child reads, the better he or she will become.