📘 What to do when decoding still hasn’t clicked

You care.
You’re trying.
You’re reading every night, buying books, following the school’s lead…

But something still feels off.
Your child isn’t progressing the way you hoped.

You’re not alone—and you’re definitely not doing everything wrong.

The truth is, even loving, engaged parents can accidentally make mistakes that hold their child back from reading success.
Let’s break down five of the most common ones—and what to do instead.

❌ Mistake #1: Letting Kids Memorize Sight Words Too Early

We’ve all done it:

“This is the word the. Just remember it.”

But if your child hasn’t built phonemic awareness and decoding skills, memorizing a pile of sight words leads to guessing—not reading.

✅ What to do instead:

• Teach the sounds in the word (“th” says /th/, “e” says /uh/)

• Focus on decoding simple CVC words first

• Practice automatic recognition after the child understands the sounds

👉 Kids become fluent by building patterns, not flashcards.

❌ Mistake #2: Relying on Picture Clues to “Figure Out” Words

Books that say:

“I see the dog. I see the cat. I see the…”

…train kids to guess based on images and patterns.

This works early on—but it doesn’t teach them how to decode unfamiliar words.

✅ What to do instead:

• Use decodable texts that match your child’s phonics level

• Cover the pictures and ask them to sound out

• Cheer for decoding, even when it’s slow! 🎉

❌ Mistake #3: Skipping Over Sound Work (Phonemic Awareness)

If your child doesn’t hear the sounds clearly, they won’t connect them to letters.

Sound work is the invisible step between letters and reading. And when it’s skipped, everything feels harder.

✅ What to do instead:

• Play sound games (e.g., “What’s the first sound in mat?”)

• Clap syllables, blend and segment orally

• Start before the book, not after

🧠 This is brain training—not busywork.

❌ Mistake #4: Using Leveled Readers Too Soon

Leveled books may feel “just right,” but most don’t support phonics-based instruction.

They rely on:

• Sentence patterns

• Sight words

• Guessing from context

Which is exactly what struggling readers need to unlearn.

✅ What to do instead:

• Choose decodable books with clear phonics focus

• Align books to your child’s skill level, not grade level

• Re-read for fluency (yes, even the same story 3x!)

❌ Mistake #5: Thinking Reading Will “Just Click” Eventually

Many parents hear this:

“Give it time.”
“They’ll get there.”
“Every kid reads at their own pace.”

But if your gut is telling you something’s wrong, listen to it.

Reading struggles don’t fix themselves.

✅ What to do instead:

• Look for red flags (struggles with sounds, guessing, fatigue)

• Get a phonics-based curriculum or support

• Start structured reading practice at home—even 15 minutes a day makes a difference

🧡 Final Thoughts

If you've made any of these mistakes—you're in good company.
We all have.
Most of us were never taught how to teach reading ourselves.

But now that you know what helps, you can pivot with purpose.

📘 At BrainySheets, we build our reading materials to support parents just like you—clear teaching guides, decodable stories, and no fluff.

Because helping a child learn to read is one of the most powerful things you can do.

And it starts with knowing what not to do. 😉