Parenting Blog - Learning to Read

Learning to Read

I'm feeling a bit of the "grass is greener" syndrome today, although, on this rare occasion, it's my pasture that
appears more emerald. I just spoke with a friend who recently welcomed home her firstborn baby. I am quickly
reminded how foreign these little beings first seem as their story of new life begins to unfold. I distinctly recall the
struggle to read my own baby's cues and understand how to respond to his needs. Was he hungry, tired, gassy or did
he need to be changed? Our house is far beyond those days of chaos, and for that I feel grateful.

My thoughts remain on her as I sit down to help my kindergartner with his reading homework. And the thought occurs
to me how a parent might learn to read their child like a book.

Like learning to read, understanding a baby starts with small steps - identifying letters, or signs, matching those with
corresponding sounds, learning that every sound has a meaning, and recognizing basic sound or language patterns. It
seems like a futile struggle to get it. Then one fine day, something finally clicks and the language is clear! You can
read that "Neh" means "I'm hungry."

However, a parent's lesson mustn't end with just the basics, as reading requirements will continue to expand. It will
be a continuous process to comprehend the meaning from each new chapter as a child narrates the story of their life.

The chapters will likely become more complex. A parent must analyze the emerging characters, changing settings,
different tones, recurring themes, and synthesize all this new information to accurately comprehend the child's full
message.

A parent must make connections with past experiences, question before, during and after reading, read between the
lines, make predictions, and determine the importance of the information their child has authored.

Sometimes the child's narrative will be clear. Other times a parent must resort to basic decoding strategies. One might
rely upon picture clues, or body language, to differentiate the meaning of their message. A parent might need to
break down what is stumping their fluency into parts, ask if it makes sense or looks right, or reread for better
meaning.

To become a reader with good fluency, a parent must honor a child's punctuation. There will be times when a parent
will need to pause and take a breath for the commas in their child's life that ask for space. A parent must accept the
periods that insist the statement has ended. They must try to hear those emphatic declarations made with
exclamation marks, without taking them too personally. A parent can be encouraged when a child's semicolon ensures
things will get clearer as the parent reads on. And when a child invites an answer with a question mark, a parent must
try their best to provide an adequate response.

Throughout a child's story, a parent must determine if the account is fact, fiction, or editorial. Each chapter in a
child's life might convey one or even a combination of all. Some chapters will voice humor, others drama, sometimes
mystery, maybe fantasy, often action. Likely parents will prefer certain genres over others. Throughout the child's
story, different plot twists might evoke strong emotions from its reader - anger, guilt, sadness, joy, pride, or love.

Learning to read a child like a book is often an initial struggle. Keeping up with each new chapter in their life involves
continuous analytical commitment. But this commitment to reading benefits both parent and child. Better than any
best selling novel, a child's story will reveal a riveting plot that is certain to leave a strong and lasting impression on
its reader. One's world view will be forever changed. At the same time, attentive readership validates to a child that
they are a worthy author and their story is worth being shared.