A message for parents/guardians and teachers this National Year of Reading
In this National Year of Reading, our feeds are full of passionate posts about books. And as a children’s author, it will come as no surprise that I’m wholeheartedly in favour of children reading for pleasure.
Reading for pleasure helps children relax. It expands vocabulary. It strengthens empathy. It deepens understanding of the world. Long term, it supports mental wellbeing and academic achievement.
But here’s the honest part.
As a mum and a former Key Stage Two teacher, I know how hard it can be to nurture reading for pleasure as a sustained habit. I know how tempting it is to want a child to curl up and devour a whole, mind expanding novel. And I know how quickly that well intentioned hope can turn into pressure.
Most children do not fall in love with reading under pressure.
So, as we approach World Book Day, if you’re a parent or carer worrying that your child is not reading enough, take a breath and remember this:
All reading is reading. And all reading counts.
Books are wonderful. They offer immersion, depth, imagination, connection. But they are not the only gateway to reading fluency, comprehension and enjoyment.
The world is stitched together with words. Life requires us to read constantly and in many different forms.
Printed books.
E books.
Comics and graphic novels.
Game instructions.
Subtitles.
Jokes.
Billboards.
Menus.
Shampoo bottles.
It all counts.
Children become readers by reading. The habit builds through volume, variety and choice. What matters most is that they are engaging with words, making meaning, and discovering that reading is useful, empowering and sometimes even joyful.
Let them start where they are.
The rest will follow.
Resource
A free PDF poster of the “Alphabet of Reading” featured in this post is available to download from the resources page of my website. Please feel free to print and display it at home, in your classroom, or in your library.
Jen Carney 