Read. Read More. Repeat.

—It can't be said enough: Reading to your child during these formative years is perhaps the most important learning activity you'll ever share with them. So do it often!

• Reading expands your child's vocabulary... ignites your child's imagination... teaches proper grammar and syntax... and helps your child excel in every subject.

Tips to improve reading and enhance comprehension

—Teach your child the letters of the alphabet from pre-school.
—Read out loud to your child ? or have your child read out loud to you - for 15 minutes every night.
—As your child reaches kindergarten, continue reading aloud and play rhyming games to enhance his or her awareness of phonics.

• You can also help your toddler and pre-K child develop motor skills - which will make learning to write later on much easier - by having them play with clay, paint and scissors, etc.

—For Kindergarteners and up, be sure to check their comprehension after they've finished reading.

• Some children are able to "read" the words very well, but don't truly understand what they're reading.
• Asking "Why" questions is a good starting point, i.e., 'Why was the girl happy? Why was the boy embarrassed?'

—Don't be afraid to let your child "guess" about what's going on in the story.

• While your child should sound out, and not simply guess at, any unknown words, don't discourage him or her from guessing where the story's going. Let them look at the pictures and think about what's happening. That's a natural part of reading and comprehension - and shows a healthy and active imagination.

Bottom line: Everybody loves a good story. If your child is refusing or struggling to read, visit the library, bookstore, or Internet to find a book or story about a topic of interest to him or her. And if you can't find one, why not make one up together? You can even print it out and have your child draw pictures to make their first published work!

Over all, the parent should teach these skills:
1. Increase child's vocabulary
2. Teach him/her using pictures
3. Do it through repetitions
4. Use phonemics: develop their reading skill through rhymes
5. Utilize imagination and intrigue their curiosity
All this will better your child's reading performance in school.

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