Why My Child Skips Lines and Loses Their Place

By Laura Lurns · Reviewed by Philip Weaver · Last reviewed 2026-10-01

What losing the place looks like

Some children lose their place on the page. They may skip a line.

In our view, note when it happens, and on what kind of page.

Is losing the place a sign of dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a name for a pattern of trouble reading words, spelling, or both. Struggling to read says nothing about how smart your child is.

To us, losing the place shows where to start, not what to call it. Our rule is to describe patterns on these pages. We do not put a name on a child.

Why a child can lose the place

Here is what may be behind it. More than one thing can be going on at once.

In our experience, a child working hard to get each word out can lose their place. From across the table, that can look like an eye problem. In our reading of the eye-movement research, hard sounding out largely causes the jumpy eye movements, not the reverse.

Reading improves with reading instruction.

Some children avoid close work, rub their eyes or lose their place. In our view, that is a reason for a full eye exam. Ask for one that includes near vision.

In our experience, some children sound out well and still lose the line. To us, that is often not a phonics problem. A child who sounds out well and cannot stay on the line needs reading short enough to finish.

Have the eyes checked

Have your child's eyes checked. A child who cannot see the print clearly needs that found.

In 2009, the American Academy of Pediatrics and three eye-care bodies stated that vision problems do not cause dyslexia. The American Academy of Ophthalmology was one of the three eye-care bodies.

An eye problem and reading trouble can come together in one child. In 2009, pediatric and eye-care bodies said children with dyslexia have no more visual problems than others. In our view, each needs its own check.

If an exam finds an eye problem, that problem needs its own care.

Tracking practice and eye exercises

We are not against eye care. The point is narrow. Have the eyes checked because eyes should be checked. Do not buy a course of eye exercises as a way to fix reading.

Tracking a line can be practiced, and practice improves it. Keep any tracking practice alongside reading instruction, not in place of it. Reading improves with reading instruction.

To us, better eye skills and better reading are different claims. Ask which one a program has shown.

What to do first

In our view, have the eyes checked. Then work out which job of reading is going wrong. The exception is a skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

Reading improves with reading instruction. Suppose a program promises better reading from an activity that is not reading. Check that claim.

When to ask for help

Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.

• Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
• Reading well below what school expects.
• A teacher who raises a concern about reading.
• Extreme upset about reading.
• Complete avoidance of reading.
• Hopelessness about learning.
• Sadness or worry that lasts.
• Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
• A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

Start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.

Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.