As fewer children read for pleasure, parents are playing an increasingly important role in literacy development. This piece draws on the Science of Reading to offer practical, research-informed strategies families can use at home to support early reading skills and long-term engagement.
Written by Belal Jonaid
Like many parents, you have likely wondered how to get your child to develop a habit of reading. In an increasingly digital world dominated by algorithms and bite-sized content, such concerns can feel pressing. Indeed according to one 2022 study, the percentage of American 9-year olds who read daily in their free time dropped a whopping 14% in just ten years (Heubeck, 2025).
Parents can play an important role here. As new research on the frontiers of education and cognitive science teaches us more about how we learn to read, it becomes clear that reading does not simply start and end at school. In fact building language and meaning can occur in a wide range of environments, including at home. How can parents support literacy at home in everyday yet meaningful ways?
How We Learn
The Science of Reading is a broad approach to teaching literacy, informed by a large and evolving body of research. The method is based on systematically imparting five core skills: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. This means that in place of context clues and visual cues, a methodical code-based approach is used to help students more efficiently grasp the fundamentals of reading (National Center on Improving Literacy, 2022).
Since the Science of Reading is not a specific product or program students can enroll in but rather a set of insights based on ongoing research, parents can utilize these techniques in a number of everyday settings. In practice this can look like consistent work in key areas at home.
Practical Tips for Parents
Use Available Resources: There is a broad range of available material on engagement at home, and finding the best content can be a challenge. Building Resources for Inclusive Development and Growth in Education (BRIDGE) is an initiative from Rutgers University and the New Jersey Department of Education that collects some of the most high-quality resources for parents in one place.
Read Together Daily: Besides simply encouraging the habit, reading together also models fluency and can organically teach key concepts. It allows children to recognize letters and understand “print concept,” the idea that printed words symbolically carry meaning as well as the rules of text (Duursma et al., 2008).
Prioritize Phonics and Word Work: Focusing on sounding out words while reading together can teach letter sounds, decoding, and blending in small, playful ways. These abilities foster knowledge of phonics and phonemic awareness, which form the foundation for reading (Reading Rockets, n.d., Science of Reading).
Build Vocabulary and Language: Integrating new and more challenging words into everyday conversations with your child can help immensely. Explaining the definition of newer terms and using them in context can allow you to build vocabulary and encourage word consciousness, the crucial skill that allows young readers to appreciate new words and their definitions.
Encourage Comprehension Skills: When reading with your child, it is important to ask “why” and “how” questions. These discussions cement meaning for kids and allow them to infer, connect ideas, and think more critically about the texts they encounter. Another useful way to build comprehension is to connect stories to life experiences (National Center on Improving Literacy, 2022).
Beyond the First Page
When encouraging your child to read, it is always important to remember that sustained everyday involvement matters more than perfection. Reading fluently can be a long journey, and enthusiasm and consistency are key. Celebrating small successes and sharing stories can be just as vital as decoding and comprehension.
Needless to say, educating the next generation of readers remains a priority in education today, and parents have a crucial role to play by fostering important skills at home.
_____
References
Duursma, E., Augustyn, M., & Zuckerman, B. (2008). Reading aloud to children: the evidence. Archives of disease in childhood, 93(7), 554-557.
Heubeck, E. (2025, June 12). Fewer parents are reading aloud to their kids. Why that matters. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/fewer-parents-are-reading-aloud-to-their-kids-why-that-matters/2025/06
National Center on Improving Literacy. (2022). The science of reading: An overview. https://www.improvingliteracy.org/resource/the-science-of-reading-an-overview
Reading Rockets. (n.d.). Science of reading. ReadingRockets.org. https://www.readingrockets.org/classroom/evidence-based-instruction/science-reading
Rutgers Center for Effective School Practices. (n.d.). BRIDGE portal. Rutgers University. https://cesp.rutgers.edu/bridge-portal