Why Is My Child Struggling to Read? Understanding the Five Building Blocks of Reading

Jenna: Welcome to the Wonder Voice Podcast. I'm Jenna, your host and a parent, and today we're talking about a question so many parents have asked themselves: Jenna: WHY is my child struggling to read? Jenna: And joining me today is Nora Richman, the founder of WONDER VOICE and HAPPY YOUTHFUL MINDS... Welcome Nora! THANK YOU, Jenna... I'm really happy to be here! I have to tell you, this is a question I think A LOT of parents quietly worry about. Maybe their child is struggling with certain words, maybe they're reading slowly, or maybe they can read the words but don't seen to understand the story. So let's start with the big question then... WHY do some children struggle with Reading? That's such an important question, Jenna. And the first thing I want parents to know is that reading isn't one single skill. There are several interconnected skills that children develop as they become readers. So instead of asking, "Why isn't my child a good reader?" I think a much better question is: "What part of reading is my child still developing?" I like that distinction. So what are those different parts? We often talk about five important building blocks of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics and decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. And each one plays a different role. Let's take those one at a time, because I think this is where parents can really begin to understand what they're seeing at home. Let's start with phoneemic awareness. What exactly is that? Phoneemic awareness is essentially the ability to hear and work with the individual sounds in spoken words. For example, take the word "map." A child can hear three individual sounds: mmmmmm , /aaaaaaaa/, /ppppppppp/ Being able to recognize those sounds, blend them together, or break a word apart into its individual sounds is part of the foundation for reading. So a child could know their alphabet but still have difficulty with those sounds? Absolutely. Knowing the names of letters and being able to work with the sounds within spoken words are related, but they're not exactly the same thing. That's why it's important to understand what a child can actually do, rather than simply saying, "They know their letters, so they should be able to read." Hmm, Okay. Then comes phonics and decoding. Right. Phonics is about understanding the relationship between letters and sounds. Decoding is applying that knowledge when you're reading words. So a child sees a word they may not already know and uses their knowledge of letters, sounds, and patterns to work through it. As children progress, those patterns become more complex. They move from simpler words into blends, digraphs, vowel patterns, and eventually longer and multisyllabic words. And I imagine that's where parents sometimes start saying, "My child was doing fine, and then suddenly these words became really difficult." Exactly... And that's an important moment. A longer word becoming difficult doesn't necessarily mean the child is "bad at reading." It can tell us something much more specific about the reading skill that needs more practice. So we're looking at the actual reading behavior rather than putting a label on the child. Correct. We want to understand the child, not define the child by a difficulty. So, let's talk about fluency because I think that's something parents notice immediately when they listen to their child read aloud. They do. Fluency is about reading accurately, at an appropriate pace, and with expression. But there's a misconception that fluent reading simply means reading fast. It doesn't. A child can read very quickly and still not understand what they're reading. Another child may read accurately but slowly because they're still putting a lot of effort into decoding. So we're interested in how the child is reading, not simply how fast they're reading. That's interesting because as a parent, you might naturally think, "They're reading faster, so they're getting better." Right. Speed can be one indicator, but it doesn't tell the whole story. Accuracy, automaticity, expression, self-correction, and comprehension all give us more information. Then now we get to vocabulary. Yes. And vocabulary is fascinating because a child can actually read a word correctly without knowing what that word means. Haha! That's definitely happened in my house. It happens in a lot of houses. A child might pronounce a word correctly, but when you ask, "What does that mean?" they don't know. That's a different kind of reading challenge. Stories are wonderful environments for vocabulary development because children encounter words naturally within a meaningful context. They hear the word. They see it. They can ask about it. They can talk about it. They can practice it. And then...they return to the STORY. Which brings us to comprehension. Exactly. Because ultimately, we read for meaning. Comprehension is about understanding and thinking about what we're reading. So, a child might be able to decode every word in a passage and still struggle to explain what happened. So we want children to think about the story, make connections, ask questions, understand vocabulary, follow ideas, and explain what they've read. So when parents ask, "Is my child reading well?" there's actually a much bigger question underneath that. Yes. We should really be asking: "What can my child do when they're reading?" And: "Where are they ready to grow next?" And this is actually where the idea behind Wonder Voice becomes really interesting. Because you're not just putting an AI voice in front of a child and saying, "Have a conversation." Exactly Jenna. That's a very important distinction for us. The child isn't simply talking to an AI companion. The story is the experience. The child listens. The child reads aloud. The child encounters words. The child asks questions. The child practices. And WONZY listens and responds within that reading experience. So give me an example of what that might actually look like for a child. Imagine a child is reading a story and comes across a word they've never seen before. They try to read it. Maybe they get it. Maybe they hesitate. Maybe they try again. Maybe they ask, "What does that word mean?" WONZY can respond within the context of the story. Then, the child can continue reading where they left off. And all of those moments become part of the reading experience. So the technology isn't just listening for a correct answer. Correct. We're interested in the experience of reading. How the child approaches words. How they read aloud. Where they may need practice. What they are mastering. And how their reading develops over time. And that's where the Reading Mastery Propellor comes in? Exactly. The Reading Mastery Propellor is designed around reading mastery skills. A child might begin with foundational skills such as letters and sounds. Then move into simple words. More complex patterns. Multisyllabic words. Sentences. Passages. And comprehension. But here's something really important. Children don't all start at the same place. A child might be older and still need to strengthen a foundational reading skill. And that's okay. The goal isn't to make a child feel behind. The goal is to understand where they are and help them move forward. I REALLY love that! Because the word "behind" can feel so heavy to a child. It can. And that's why we want to focus on mastery and growth. Instead of saying, "You're not good at this," we want the experience to communicate: "Here's what you can do. Here's what you're learning. And here's what we're going to work on next." Now let's talk about the parents, because I think this is where Wonder Voice has another very interesting piece. The child is having this reading experience, but the parent is also getting information. Exactly. That's one of the most important parts of the entire system. The child's reading experience becomes meaningful evidence. WONZY listens and interacts with the child. The system can capture relevant reading evidence based on the science of reading. And that information can help parents understand their child's reading development. So instead of a parent simply seeing a score and thinking, "Okay... what does that mean?" Right. We want parents to understand: What has my child mastered? What are they practicing? Where are they growing? Where might they need additional practice? And what could we work on next? That's much more useful information. That's the goal. We don't want to create more data just for the sake of having data. We want to turn reading data into understanding. Data that ONLY parents have access to, not even us. That way the power of knowledge is in their hands. And hopefully empower parents to have better conversations with their child's teacher too. Absolutely. A parent who understands what their child is working on can have a much more meaningful conversation with a teacher. Instead of simply saying, "My child is struggling with reading," they might be able to say: "My child seems comfortable with these word patterns, but is having difficulty with these types of words." That's a VERY different conversation. And it gives the parent something they can actually do. Exactly. Parents don't need to become reading specialists. They need understandable information and practical ways to support their child. So if a parent is listening right now and thinking, "I'm worried about my child's reading," what would you say to them? I would say: start with curiosity. Listen to your child read. Notice what they can do. Notice where they pause. Notice what kinds of words challenge them. Notice whether they understand what they're reading. But most IMPORTANTLY, notice their STRENGTHS. Don't begin with: "What's wrong?" Begin with: "What are we learning about how my child reads?" That's a BEAUTIFUL shift. Because reading development is a journey. Every child has a starting point. And every starting point can become a next step. Nora, before we wrap up, I want to ask you one final question. What do you hope children feel when they use Wonder Voice? I want them to feel CAPABLE. Curious. Encouraged. And EXCITED to keep reading. I don't want reading to feel like a test every time they open a book. I want them to experience stories. To discover words. To ask questions. To make mistakes without feeling embarrassed. To try again. And to CELEBRATE and BE HAPPY with what they're learning. Because sometimes the most important thing we can give a young reader is not another score. It's the feeling of: "I CAN DO THIS!" I LOVE that! And I think that's a wonderful place to end. THANK YOU, Nora. Thank YOU, Jenna. It's been wonderful talking with you as a parent. And thank you ALL for joining us on the Wonder Voice Podcast. If you're a parent wondering how your child is really doing with reading, remember: every reading experience can tell us something. Keep reading together. Keep asking questions. Keep encouraging your child. And we'll see you next time. HAPPY READING! HAPPY READING!