Raising Readers
Not that you asked, but reading is relaxing, bonding, plus educational.
I have three children (two Millennial and one Gen-Z, for context). While I did not attend college beyond one year of community college, I had it in my brain that I wanted college to be an option for them. While I saved money per child, I also assumed they would need either athletic, scholastic, or merit scholarships to help if they chose to enroll in college.
More likely scholastic or merit scholarships, given how lightly athletic everyone in their extended family is, myself included. And to that, I thought reading as a strong foundation would toward college acceptance, and perhaps scholarships.
Helping them financially for college in the form of scholastic scholarship is covered here:
The short of that is that I funded some of their college at a set amount, an amount meant to entice them to learn beyond high school.
Forward
This article is not about scholarships, it is about how I raised three readers to prepare them for high school and beyond.
This is a quick read, perhaps ironically.
The Beginning
Some parents read to their children while in utero. While there are likely benefits to that, and even more likely, no downside, I did not do that.
My oldest child was born on a Monday and 12 days later we moved 100 miles to a new apartment. After settling in, two days later, the readings began. It was not meant to be a daily ritual; it started to as a way to relax for a few minutes.
But that relaxing started a daily tradition of reading with each child starting around the age of 2–4 weeks. There was a minimum of 15 minutes a day dedicated to reading. This was a welcomed routine to destress (for me) and to bond (for us).
Every day, 15 minutes. Sometimes 20 minutes, and around ages of 3–6 years, more like 30–45 minutes a day.
When I note dedicated to reading, I am excluding those times where reading was to help induce sleep or some other purpose.
That time is 1-on-1, so that was 15 minutes per child (so a minimum of 45 minutes per day, after the third was born).
That first year, I chose random reading material. It could be a child’s book, certainly. It could be a newspaper, a paperback novel, recipes, and even once, a manual on a new video camera. The important part was not the actual content.
The important part was to read to them, and along with that, to bond.
The Middle
Beyond the routine of reading, and the excitement of a new book, around ages 3–5, while moving my fingers along each word as I read it, each child would start picking up that these were all separate words. Sight words started clicking (such as the, and, I, me, he, she, it, green, eggs, ham).
By age five, longer words clicked, and they sounded out new words frequently.
By age six, they were reading above grade level — and while I know what that means, I don’t find it meaningful.
Also around this time, if I tried to skip a word, I was verbally berated: That’s not what it says! Not every time, but enough to know they were reading along.
During these middle years marathon reading sessions occurred; they would read some, I would read some, repeat. Sometimes for a few hours.
The End
Around ages 6–8, each child decreased wanting to read with me as they favored reading on their own. Yes, it stings not spending time with them, but ultimately, parenting is to teach kids to do for themselves.
However, I would sneakily read their books while they were asleep so that I could ask questions. Why doesn’t Harry live with his parents? Does Ms. Frizzle teach near us?
Beyond age 8, each of them were daily readers for fun, until time commitments in high school diminished their available time. They all read for fun throughout high school, just not daily.
I openly read in front of them for myself. They could be playing on the floor and see that I was reading a book. Time at a park might have them playing with other kids while I read. While they were at basketball practice, I was reading. Kids learn not just by reading, but by observing as well.
Modeling behavior is much stronger than verbally stating do as I say, not as I do.
The Epilogue
At ages 21–27, they all still read for fun. It is instilled in them that reading is an activity that people do. You take walks, you volunteer, you watch TV; you play video games; you read.
The Recommendation
Set aside 15 minutes of 1-on-1 reading time per child, and that is reading as an activity (not reading to induce sleep). It will help your child learn to read, learn that reading is something fun, and it will help you bond.
You might also find the time relaxes you too.
