For Parents: Frequently Asked Questions
Babies and Toddlers
There are so many good websites that answer all your questions about reading to your babies and toddlers. These websites ask and answer your most common questions about reading and your baby. Here are some excellent websites to visit:
- www.med.umich.edu/1libr/yourchild/reading.htm
- www.childliteracy.com/babies.html
- www.babycenter.com/0_reading-to-your-baby_368.bc
- www.medem.com/MedLB/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZFZXI2S7C&sub_cat=0
- www.rif.org/parents/0_4.mspx
The Primary Grades (K-3)
Kindergarten through third grade are magical years for your child as your child learns to read. Visit these websites to learn more about beginning reading and to have your most frequent questions answered about reading and your K-3 grade student:
- www.rif.org/parents/5_8.mspx
- www.kidshealth.org/parent/positive/all_reading/reading_schoolage.html
- www.edreform.com/index.cfm?fuseAction=document&documentID=357
- www.ed.gov/Family/RWN/Activ97/begin.html
- www.pbs.org/parents/readinglanguage/second/reading_milestone_second.html
- www.nationalreadingpanel.org/Publications/helpingread.htm
Intermediate and Middle School Students
As your children get older and become independent readers, it is sometimes difficult to continue involvement in their reading. However, educators highly recommend that parents continue being involved in their children’s reading. Here are some resources that may help:
- www.nea.org/parents/reading46.html
- www.rif.org/parents/9_12.mspx
- www.mohonasen.org/03parents/MSParent/EncouragingReading.htm
- www.middleweb.com/ParntInvl.html
- www.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/adolescence/index.html
High School Readers
By the time children reach high school, they are likely to be independent readers and not particularly interested in their parents’ advice. Nevertheless, educators will tell parents to stay interested in their children’s progress and particularly in their students’ reading. Here are a few articles that may be helpful to parents:
- www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/733
- www.pta.org/archive_article_details_1118072738531.html
- www.rif.org/parents/13_up.mspx
Struggling Readers
Parents are concerned when they see their child beginning to struggle with reading and often have many questions about how they might best help their child. There are several useful websites parents can use to find answers to the questions they may have about their struggling readers. One website, Reading Rockets, includes several articles parents can read for assistance:
- www.readingrockets.org/article/374
- www.readingrockets.org/article/194
- www.readingrockets.org/article/19979
- www.readingrockets.org/article/12415
- www.readingrockets.org/article/639
- www.readingrockets.org/article/643
