The 3 biggest mistakes your child makes when reading

by | May 8, 2026 | Guidance for Parents and Kids, Phonics and Handwriting, Video | 0 comments

The 3 biggest mistakes your child makes when reading

It is often confusing for parents when a bright, articulate child struggles with the Year 1 phonics screening. The reality is that “clever” children are often the best at finding workarounds—like using context clues or memorizing whole words—which actually hinders their long-term reading development.

If you want to help your child succeed in June, you need to address these three common pitfalls directly. Here is a breakdown of why these mistakes happen and how to fix them.

1. Guessing Instead of Decoding

Many children look at the first letter of a word and the length of the word, then take a “leap of faith.” If they see “sun,” they might say “sit.” This happens because they are trying to speed through the text rather than processing it.

  • The Fix: Use a “Phonics Finger.” Encourage your child to physically point to each sound (grapheme) before they say the word. If they guess, gently stop them and ask, “What are the sounds you actually see?”

2. Memorizing Words Instead of Reading Through Sounds

In the early years, children have incredible memories. They can often “read” a book by memorizing the repetitive patterns or the pictures. While this looks like reading, it is actually a memory exercise. This mistake becomes obvious during the phonics screening because the alien words (pseudo-words) cannot be memorized.

  • The Fix: Introduce nonsense words into your daily routine. Since they have no meaning, your child is forced to rely on their “decoding muscles” rather than their memory.

3. Not Knowing the “Special Friends” Well Enough

The English language is full of digraphs and trigraphs (two or three letters making one sound, like sh, th, igh, or air). A common mistake is for a child to try and sound out every single letter individually. For example, reading light as /l/ /i/ /g/ /h/ /t/ instead of /l/ /igh/ /t/.

  • The Fix: Play “Spot the Special Friends.” Before your child reads a sentence, have them scan the words and point out any digraphs they see. Once they’ve identified the “hidden” sounds, they are much more likely to blend them correctly.

Why the Phonics Screening Check is Different

The screening check is designed specifically to expose these three mistakes. Because it uses a 50/50 split of real and alien words, it acts as a “pure” test of decoding. A child who relies on sight-memory or guessing will typically pass the real words but fail the alien words.

Quick Checklist for Parents:

  • Does your child underline digraphs? (e.g., drawing a bar under ‘ch’ in chip)

  • Do they use “Sound Buttons”? (dots for single sounds, bars for digraphs)

  • Are they confident with Phase 5 sounds? (ay, ou, ie, ea, oy, etc.)

For more parent-friendly tools and a step-by-step guide to navigating the screening check, visit earlyyearspad.com.

Which of these three mistakes do you notice most often when reading at home? Knowing the specific hurdle helps in choosing the right practice strategy!