Supporting Your Child’s Reading—Even When You’re Not a Confident Reader

Welcome back to The Clara James Approach Podcast—I’m Dawn, your host. In today’s episode, we’ll explore how parents who don’t feel like confident readers themselves can still create a supportive, fun, and effective reading environment at home. Whether it’s anxiety, neurodiversity, or a lack of confidence holding you back, there’s plenty you can do to help your child flourish.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Why Reading Can Feel Tough—For Both of You

• Many of us remember the pressure of reading out loud in class and how it triggered worry or embarrassment—so our natural response is to avoid it. But that doesn’t reflect our potential—it’s just how our brains handle pressure.
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2. Learning Is Unique & Multi-Modal Works Best

• We each learn differently. Giving children multiple ways to practice—flashcards, picture matching, writing in sand, or using games like Jenga—creates more “memory paths” in the brain. That helps information stick.
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3. Hold Their Hand (Figuratively!)

• Learning to read is like learning to walk: we hold them, cheer them on, and let go when they’re ready. It builds confidence and independence the gentle way. 

4. Understanding Why Some Children Struggle

• Struggles aren’t about laziness. They might stem from limited language exposure, hearing issues, vision problems, anxiety, or diverse processing styles (e.g., neurodiversity like dyslexia, ADHD, autism, dyspraxia, auditory processing difficulties, working memory challenges). 
• Importantly: these are not obstacles to reading—they’re just hints we need to adapt our support. 

5. Positive Learning Environment

• Focus on progress rather than perfection. Celebrate small wins. Avoid comparisons or shaming.
• Reduce pressure and create a nurturing, relaxed space.
  
  

6. Multisensory & Assistive Strategies

• Let children see, feel, and move as they learn:
  • Use letter tiles, magnetic letters, sand tracing, or writing with water.
• Use assistive tech:
  • Try audiobooks, text-to-speech, dyslexia-friendly fonts, coloured overlays.
    
    

7. Phonics & Word Play

• Break words into sounds (phonics), play with phonemes, patterns, rhymes. Turn repetition into play with songs or chants.
  
  

8. Reading Together—On Your Terms

• Reading together builds fluency and confidence. Choose books that spark your child’s interest, even if they’re below their level.
• It’s okay to share the reading: you read the hard parts, they read what feels comfortable. You “learning alongside them” is powerful modeling.
  
  

9. Use Positive Reinforcement

• Praise effort over accuracy. If your child stumbles, gently guide rather than correct. “So close! Let’s try that together.” Encouragement builds self-esteem.
  
  

10. Partner with School

• Stay in touch with teachers. Ask how reading is progressing and how to align home support with classroom strategies.
  
  

11. Resilience & Growth Mindset

• Reinforce: struggling is part of learning. Reading difficulty doesn’t define ability.
• Everyone has strengths. Encourage perspective that challenges are just another path to learning.
  
  

12. Games to Make Reading Fun

• Dotty Board Game
  • A fun board game where landing on certain colours prompts a reading challenge or a playful twist on turns. It cre