An early years expert reveals how UAE parents can build their child’s reading confidence with simple, everyday habits at home
Many parents in the UAE quietly wonder: “Am I doing enough to help my child learn to read at home?”
According to Hannah Rudling, an Early Years teacher and former Deputy Principal in the UAE, now Head of International Development at Monster Phonics, most parents are already doing more than they realise.
Monster Phonics is used by more than 300 schools and nurseries across the UAE and the wider GCC, including Raha International School, Arcadia British School, Rashid and Latifa Schools and The British School of Oman.
The programme uses unique colour-coding and character cues to provide additional support for children with EAL and SEND.
“If you’ve ever wondered whether you should be ‘doing more’ to help your child learn to read at home, you’re not alone,” she says. “It’s one of the most common questions parents ask, and the good news is, you’re probably already doing more than you think.”
Reading, she explains, doesn’t begin with books or phonics worksheets. “It starts much earlier, in the small, everyday moments you share with your child.” Chatting in the car. Singing nursery rhymes. Reading the same bedtime story for the tenth night in a row.
“These moments might feel ordinary, but they are quietly building the foundations for reading.”
Reading starts long before phonics
“Long before children can recognise letters, they are learning about language,” Rudling says. They tune into sounds, build vocabulary, and begin to grasp how stories work.
Simple activities such as clapping out syllables, spotting rhymes, and playing ‘I spy’ with sounds do more than they appear to.
“These are developing phonological awareness,” she says. “It’s the ability to hear and play with the sounds in words – a key stepping stone to reading.”
Just as importantly, these early experiences teach children that books are warm places.
“Children who associate reading with warmth and attention are far more likely to stay engaged when learning becomes more challenging.”
What phonics actually does
Once school starts, parents often hear the word “phonics”. At its simplest, Rudling says, “phonics is about teaching children how sounds match to letters, and how those sounds blend together to form words. It’s what allows a child to look at an unfamiliar word and work it out, rather than guess.”
Once decoding feels smooth, reading stops feeling effortful and starts feeling enjoyable. “Phonics isn’t in competition with a love of reading,” she says. “It helps unlock it.”
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Why early reading books look so simple
Many parents are surprised when their child brings home what looks like a very basic reading book. That’s deliberate.
“Many schools use decodable books, which are carefully matched to the sounds children have already learned,” Rudling says. “These books are designed to help children practise and succeed.”
The trick is to read them alongside the richer stories you share at home, the books that make a child laugh, think and ask questions. “Both types of reading play a role: one builds the skill, the other builds the love.”
Phonics in multilingual UAE families
Many families in the UAE can speak at least two languages, and Rudling is clear that this is a strength.
“Strong language skills in any language support reading development. Vocabulary, understanding and sound awareness all transfer.”
Parents should keep speaking, reading and telling stories in their home language.
“When practising English phonics, modelling the sounds clearly can help, but there’s no need to limit your home language. Multilingual children bring a unique strength to their learning.”
Connection over correction
After a school day, most children have nothing left for anything that feels like more work, Rudling says.
“Five to ten minutes of focused reading is plenty.” Magnetic letters on the fridge, sounds drawn in shaving foam, spotting letters on signs and packaging – small, playful moments do more than formal practice.
When reading together, she advises holding back. Let children attempt words, give them time to work things out, and celebrate the effort, not just the right answer. “Confidence grows through small, successful steps.”
The habit that makes the biggest difference
If one thing makes the biggest difference, it isn’t a programme or a workbook.
“More than anything else, reading success comes down to consistency,” Rudling says. A few minutes a day, on most days, builds vocabulary and confidence over time.
But it’s the warmth around the habit that matters most.
“Reading time is also connection time. A chance to slow down, to laugh at a story, to wonder what happens next.” That, she says, “is what helps turn reading from something children have to do into something they want to do.”
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