Helping your children understand faster will help them be successful in their school work. By becoming more involved in your child’s reading skills, you can ensure that they are not left behind in class. Children do not enjoy reading if they have difficulty understanding, so it is best if they learn to understand faster from the earliest age possible.

It is not necessary to wait until the child is reading at a very efficient level before beginning to work on comprehension techniques. Learning to read and understand must be taught together so that you can work together. Also, children can get bored with reading if it doesn’t mean anything to them. When a child first learns to read a story and enjoy it, it is an important step in his life, and every effort should be made to foster this initial fascination with reading.

Basic comprehension techniques can help children of all ages understand faster. One of the best ways to improve this skill is to try to increase your child’s vocabulary. If a child has a very limited vocabulary, it will be more difficult for him to read, since words are constantly found within the reading that are not understood. When children come across a word they are not familiar with (in reading), they will first try to pronounce it. If they don’t know the word at all, pronouncing it won’t help. If they know the word, they will recognize it as soon as it is spoken.

To help build your vocabulary, try to think of a couple of new words every day whose meanings you think your child doesn’t know. Use them in a sentence when you talk to your child and watch his reaction. They may ask what it means, or you may need to find out if they understood what you said. Explain the meaning of the word and then ask your child to make up his own sentence including the new word to make sure he understood it. Having a good vocabulary will allow your child to understand faster when reading.

Try to determine, from time to time, what part of the text your child is really assimilating. Let them read a section of the writing. Then ask a few questions. The length of the reading and the difficulty of the questions will depend on the child’s age and current reading ability. Start with some general questions, and if they are answered well, move on to more detailed questions. Let your child read the section only once and do not look at the reading when responding. Don’t tell your child that you will put him to the test. It can cause stress to the child and try to read more carefully. Do the random tests in a fun and casual way.

Your child will be able to understand faster if he is encouraged to read more often. Consider spending 15-30 minutes a day reading as a family. Everyone in the family can sit together and silently read something they enjoy. Your child is more likely to be interested in reading if he sees you doing the same.

Being able to eventually speed up reading and comprehend faster will give your child a real advantage in school. Around the age of 12, children often pick up speed reading skills very easily. It is never too early to get involved and improve your child’s reading skills.