Is my child just developing at their own pace, or should I be concerned about their reading progress?
If you’ve found yourself asking that question lately, you’re not alone.
Many parents worry about reading difficulty in children, especially when reading time ends in frustration or their child starts saying things like “I can’t read.” Maybe you see them guessing at words, skipping over them, or avoiding reading altogether.
It’s hard to know what’s typical and when to step in.
Here’s the truth: Struggles with reading are common. Catching the early signs of reading difficulty in children can make all the difference.
In this post, I’ll walk you through 5 signs that may suggest your child is having a harder time learning to read. These aren’t meant to alarm you; they’re here to give you clarity, confidence, and a deeper understanding of how to best support your child.
Why Early Signs Matter
Thanks to decades of research, we now understand much more about how children learn to read. We also have a better understanding of what gets in their way.
Reading is a skill that builds layer by layer. When one of those early layers isn’t fully in place, progress can slow down or stall.
The earlier we notice what’s missing, the easier it is to fill in the gaps and get things back on track.
So what might you see at home if your child needs more support? Let’s take a closer look at 5 signs your child might be struggling with learning to read.
1. Trouble Remembering Letter Sounds or Names
One of the earliest signs of reading difficulty is a child who consistently struggles to remember letter names or the sounds they make.
They might:
– Confuse letters like b and d
– Say “mmmm” when looking at the letter T
– Forget a sound they seemed to know just yesterday
This matters because reading depends on decoding. Decoding is the ability to connect letters to sounds and blend them together to read words. If those letter-sound links are fuzzy, decoding becomes frustrating and slow.
2. Guessing Word Instead of Sounding Them Out
You might notice your child looking at the first letter of a word and guessing. Or they rely heavily on pictures to figure out what the sentence says.
This is a big clue.
Many kids memorize familiar books or rely on context to “read,” but this doesn’t build true reading ability. Over time, those strategies fall apart when the pictures go away or the words get more complex.
Real reading means looking at the words and sounding out unfamiliar words using the phonics skills they have been taught.
3. Avoidance or Frustration Around Reading
Some signs aren’t academic at all….they’re emotional.
If reading regularly leads to:
– Complaining, sighing, or tears
– Statements like “This is too hard” or “I hate reading”
– Avoidance or shutting down when it’s time to read
…it’s worth paying attention.
Children know when something feels harder than it should. When reading becomes a daily struggle, it can chip away at their confidence. That’s why early support matters, not just for skills, but for their self-esteem.
4. Struggling to Hear or Work with Sounds in Words
A less obvious, but incredibly important, foundation for reading is phonemic awareness. This is the ability to hear and play with the individual sounds in spoken words.
If your child has trouble:
– Rhyming
– Clapping out syllables
– Saying the first sound in a word
– Breaking a word into parts (like dog into /d/ /o/ /g/)
…they may need extra help developing this early skill. Without strong phonemic awareness, it’s harder to connect those sounds to letters and build decoding fluency.
5. Inconsistent Progress That Doesn’t Stick
One day, they read a word with ease. The next day, it’s like they’ve never seen it before.
This kind of “now you see it, now you don’t” progress often confuses parents and frustrates kids.
Inconsistency with high-frequency words, forgetting decoding strategies, or struggling to apply known skills to new words may indicate that your child needs more structured, explicit instruction to make those skills truly stick.
If You’ve Seen These Signs, You’re Not Alone
Reading struggles are common. They’re not a reflection of your parenting or your child’s intelligence.
Most often, kids who struggle with reading simply haven’t been taught in the way that works best for their brain. The good news is that it can change.
With early, evidence-based support, most children can make real progress, and often do so very quickly. The key is to act early, with the right kind of instruction.
What’s Next?
If one (or more) of these signs sounds familiar, don’t panic. But don’t wait it out.
You can start by:
✨ Learning more about the foundations of reading
✨ Talking to your child’s teacher about what they’re seeing
✨ Exploring structured programs—like Sure Start Reading—that give you step-by-step support at home
Check out our next post, we will walk you through what to do when you notice these red flags, including what to ask, what to try, and how to get your child the help they need.
You’re not alone. You’re already doing the most important thing: paying attention, and we are here to support you along the way.