Helping your children understand faster will help them succeed in their school work. By becoming more involved in your child’s reading skills, you can make sure they don’t fall behind in class. Children do not enjoy reading if they have comprehension difficulties, so it is best if they learn to understand faster from the earliest possible age.

It is not necessary to wait for the child to read at a very proficient level to start working on comprehension skills. Learning to read and comprehend must be taught together so that they can work together. Also, children can get bored with reading if it doesn’t make sense to them. When the child first learns to read a story and enjoys it, it is an important step in her life and everything possible should be done to foster this initial fascination with reading.

Basic comprehension techniques can help children of all ages to understand faster. One of the best ways to improve this skill is to try to increase the child’s vocabulary. If a child has a very limited vocabulary, reading will be more difficult, since words are constantly found within the reading that are not understood. When children come across a word they are unfamiliar with (when reading), they will first try to sound it out. 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 they say it.

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

Try to determine, from time to time, what part of the text your child is really taking in. Allow them to read a section of the writing. Then ask some questions. The length of the reading and the difficulty of the questions will depend on the child’s age and her 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 just once and don’t look at the reading when responding. Don’t let your child know that you will be evaluated. It can make the child stressed and try to read very cautiously. Take random tests in a fun and informal way.

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

Being able to speed read 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’s never too early to get involved and improve your child’s reading skills.