If you are concerned about your child’s development in this area, you probably should only take further steps if your child has trouble remembering new words, has difficulty putting different syllables together to form words, or avoids reading altogether. If you do notice one or more of these issues, it might be beneficial to get your child evaluated for reading delays.
Ages 8-10
Board games are great ways to encourage your blossoming reader. Games like Boggle and Apples to Apples inherently require simple reading that can help reinforce what your child is doing in school. It’s also great to keep a lot of age-appropriate reading material in the home. This way, when your child is bored, you can always point to a book for entertainment.
Unless your child is avoiding reading, guessing at words rather than attempting to sound them out, or does not seem to understand anything he reads, there is probably not a reason for concern. In general, children develop reading skills at different speeds. If, however, your child is struggling with reading and is acting out or withdrawing in class, it is a good idea to evaluate his reading skill.
