Child Hates to Read

My 9-year-old daughter hates to read. I have bought books and computer programs, but she hates doing them. When she can't read a word, she gets very frustrated and loses interest quickly. What, if anything, can I do to improve her reading skills? - No Reader
Answer: Does your daughter like to read in school? Does she comprehend what she reads there? How does her report card describe her reading skills? Does it indicate that she needs help in reading? If so, it is imperative that the school provide this help now.
We are all for parents trying to improve their children's reading skills. Unfortunately, many don't know exactly how to accomplish this. Computer programs might not be the right prescription for helping your daughter. Uninteresting stories or drills could even increase her dislike of reading. And are the books that you are choosing for her to read ones that truly interest her and easy for her to read? To enjoy reading independently she should not miss more than one word in a hundred.
When you help her read a book, you and she need to choose ones in which she misses no more than five words in a hundred. Otherwise, you will be working at her frustration level, and she will just be struggling through the material.
Your daughter also needs to learn strategies to help her determine what unknown words are. Ask her teacher for some suggestions. For example, your daughter should try figuring out what a word means by what is said in the rest of the sentence or paragraph. She could also try to break the word into syllables and pronounce it. And when she comes to very difficult words, you can simply tell them to her. Plus, if you talk about the subject of a book before your child begins to read it, she might have a much better idea of the words that will be used in the story.
Above all else, you will find your daughter's interest in reading grows if you read entertaining stories to her every night. Then she will truly understand the fascination of reading.