Resist the Urge

Don't Do It!

What I'm about to tell you to do—or rather, not do—is going to seem counterintuitive. Trust me: it works.

Do not correct every mistake your child makes when they read.

I'll tell you why. Two reasons:

1. It hinders confidence.

2. It disrupts momentum.

Reason 1: Confidence

Think about when you make a mistake. Your mind may stew over it for an unreasonable amount of time (remember, I'm an overthinker). Maybe you said, "You, too!" when the waitress brought your food and told you to enjoy it. Or, I don't know, maybe you weren't paying attention in the school drop-off line and you almost drove off with your daughter still in the car, and everyone had to wait as you held up the line because you suddenly remembered that she actually has to get out of the car to go inside to learn? (Don't worry about it.)

The point is, you may not be able to concentrate after realizing you've made a mistake. Your brain starts thinking about what went wrong and when you'll mess up again.

Reason 2: Momentum

When your kid is on a roll, keep 'em going. If you interrupt to correct an error, you are disrupting the flow.

Imagine you're on a busy road and some guy in front of you sees a snapping turtle crossing the street, so he stops his car RIGHT THEN and THERE. He gets out, wearing his golf shirt and slacks, to save said snapping turtle. What this guy doesn't realize is that he isn't helping anyone, let alone the turtle. He's just cracking everyone else up who gets the pleasure of watching him attempt to pick up a very large—I say again, SNAPPING—turtle. Oh, city boys.

Anyway, the point is: don't be that guy. Don't kill the momentum for no good reason. Reading with the correct pace and inflection is key to growing as a reader. When we halt that flow to fix a minor slip, we break the magic of the phrasing they are working so hard to build.

The Remedy

Only correct mistakes when they affect reading comprehension (understanding what your child is reading). If they say "the cat" instead of "a cat," let it go.

Just recently, I was in a session with a long-time client and she kept saying "pastor" instead of "preacher." Because we were reading for comprehension, not decoding (the actual mechanics of sounding out the words on the page), I kept my trap zipped and she continued reading at the right pace. After she finished reading the passage, she was able to correctly answer every question I asked about the theme of the story.

Mission accomplished.