Common Mistakes to Avoid When Teaching Your Child to Read

Learning to read is a process, and like any process, there are common mistakes parents unknowingly make. Let’s go over a few to avoid so your child has the best chance at reading success:

❌ 1. Mispronouncing Letter Sounds

Be careful not to add an "uh" sound to letters. For example:

• b should sound like /b/, not /buh/

• c should sound like /k/, not /kuh/

  
  

This mistake makes it much harder for your child to blend words later on. Always double-check how to pronounce each letter sound — YouTube and phonics apps can help.

❌ 2. Teaching Too Many Sounds at Once

It’s tempting to teach multiple sounds quickly, but this overwhelms children. Stick to one letter and sound at a time and focus on the most common sound for each letter.

📌 Example: The letter g most commonly makes the /g/ sound (as in gum), not the /j/ sound (as in giant).

❌ 3. Choosing the Wrong Books

Picture-word books are fun, but they’re not ideal for reading practice. Kids often just guess the word from the picture instead of sounding it out.

Instead, choose non-predictable books that require actual decoding skills.

👉 Check out our Learn to Read Series

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💬 Final Thoughts

💬 Final Thoughts