Raising Readers and World-Changers

After raising kids who love Jesus and have a heart for sharing Him with others, my most important goal as a mom is to raise kids who love reading. Why does this matter so much? Because reading helps us grow in empathy, develop Godly character, and learn anything we set our minds to. As a mom and a homeschooler, I know there’s only so much pouring in of Biblical truth and academic knowledge that I can do before my kids leave home someday; but for the kid who reads? They are set up to learn and grow however they need to. So if we agree this is important, how do we make it happen? I think the answer is actually a lot simpler than we might think. Unlike forcing our kids to eat vegetables or getting them to go to bed on time, raising readers becomes relatively painless if we make a few simple changes to how our family does things.

1. First off, we have to recognize that raising readers is our job as parents, NOT the job of our local public school. Hear me out– I promise this isn’t an anti-public school post. Regardless of what schooling decisions we make for our family, the reality is that public school teachers don’t have enough time in their day to really invest in your child’s reading life. There’s no judgment on teachers for this; they simply have too much expected of them in a day between rigorous Common Core standards and the pressure of end-of-the-year testing. Since “enjoying reading” isn’t something tested, it gets shuttled to the bottom of the priority list in our schools. I know most, if not all, teachers wish this were different, but it remains a reality in our current school system. Besides all this, don’t we WANT to be the primary influence in our kids’ lives? After all, this is why God placed you in their life to be their parent; we see clearly in Scripture that we are meant to mold and shape our children as they grow (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).

2. Make reading a yes in your house. Kendra Adachi, who hosts the Lazy Genius podcast, once said that anytime she is out somewhere with their kids and one of them asks to buy a book, it’s always an automatic yes. She shared that some of her children are reluctant readers, so if they are interested in a book she wants them to have the opportunity to read it. This probably wouldn’t fly in our house, as we would probably have no money left for groceries or bills if we said yes to all of our kids’ book requests. 😆 But our kids know that if we are going to a bookstore with a family, they have permission to pick out a book. Library trips usually result in “negotiations” for more books than just the two they were originally told. And my big girls know that if they want to stay up late, they need to be reading. 

3. Don’t stop reading aloud, even when they can read for themselves. Reading aloud is one of the most powerful things we can do for our kids; it introduces them to books they may not be able to decode yet, paints beautiful word pictures in their minds, and establishes a family culture founded on a shared love of story. I sometimes wonder why we are so quick to overlook this when we consider the activities that take place in our homes. Reading aloud takes much less effort than playing pretend with your kids or pulling out all the craft supplies for an elaborate project. If you find yourself growing bored during read-alouds, spend some time learning how to select books that are actually enjoyable for everyone involved. I usually find that the books that I enjoy reading are the same my kids enjoy in the long run, even if they aren’t the flashy Disney-type books that kids often gravitate to at a chain bookstore. Readaloudrevival.com has fabulous book lists to help get you started.

4. Make books a part of the culture of your home. If you want your kids to pick up books and read, you need to make books available in your home. Bookshelves are the most important furniture in our home, and we never have enough, despite my frequent decluttering efforts. You don’t have to spend oodles of money to stock your shelves with great book selections; get to know the local used book stores in your area and frequent their shelves to find treasures. My personal favorites are always the ones connected to the local library.

5. Finally, make sure you are modeling a thriving reading life yourself. The single biggest predictor of your kids’ reading lives as adults is your own reading life right now, not their teacher’s or the local librarian’s or any other adults in their life. If you struggle to read consistently or don’t enjoy personal reading, check out the last couple posts on here for some tips that will help.

Being a reading family is one of the greatest gifts my husband and I have given our kids; our family culture is strong because of our shared love of books, and our home is full of joy because of the stories we have immersed ourselves in. Wishing the same for your family this Christmas season!