Does your child read books that are at their reading level? If they are then you may need to rethink your strategy. They should be reading at three different levels on a consistant basis. Your child should read one book below their reading level. The purpose of this is to build their self-confidence and tone the skills that they already have. Then they should move to books at their reading level. This will help them in their development in becoming life-time readers. Next is reading books above their level. This will challenge them and give them a goal to work towards. While they will find it difficult to read, their minds need to be challenged periodically. Always give praise to your child for their hard work and effort.
Now that school has been in session for a few weeks now, your children should be adjusting to being in school. The first couple of days the kids are scared and nervous. They have a new classroom, a new teacher and new kids in their class. After the first couple of weeks of school, they begin to adjust and get comfortable. They start to settle into their routines. They get use to the way that their teacher runs the classroom. The homework assignments begin to come home. Along with this comes the adapting phase for the teachers. They are getting to know their new students and after a couple of weeks have learned all the names of the students. Once everything has settled down, then it is time to get back to some serious learning. If after a couple of weeks of school it seems as though your child is not adapting, it is time to set up an appointment with the teacher or counselor to see how to make your child feel more comfortable so they can begin to learn. Remember to always tell your child that you love them and praise them daily.
Do you read to your children? Do they read to you? This is a great way to get them motivated to read. When you sit down to read them a book, let them take a turn reading to you. A way you could do this is for you to read one page and then let them read a page. Do this throughout the entire book. It will give them a sense of accomplishment and increase their self-esteem and confidence. If you have a child that is too young to read have them tell you what is happening by looking at the pictures on the page without you reading the page first. This will help develop their communication skills by association. Another thing that you can do is after reading the book have them retell the story in their own words. If they have difficulty with this at first keep encouraging them and with time they will be able to recite the story to you. Remember to check out our back-to-school sale going on right now for a limited time. Every childrens book on the site is on sale.
There are a high number of kids that suffer from low self esteem. There can be many reasons for this. We as parents can help combat this from happening to our children by praising them daily. Many families are so busy that they forget to praise the little things. They are only focused on the bigger accomplishments. Kids need to hear that they are doing good on a regular basis. Have you praised your child today? If not take a minute to do it right now!