If you want to make reading a priority in your family, but you don't know how you are going to possibly fit that in with all the other life distractions, you are not alone. Between electronics, social media, and extracurricular activities, and still only 24 hours in a day, it's getting more and more difficult to make time for reading with your kids. However, it still can be done without the need to become a time lord. Hopefully, the suggestions below will allow you to fit in more reading time into your busy schedule.
1. Listening to Audio Books Together
I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that sometimes my minivan is like a second home to my kids and me. We live about half an hour away from everything, so we spend a lot of time in our vehicle. However, spending all this time in a vehicle together provides a fun opportunity to listen to audiobooks together. My kids and I have listened to all the Harry Potter books, The Chronicles of Narnia, Wonder, and The Phantom Tollbooth during the hour we spend in the van on the way to their martial arts classes. Some may ask if listening to books counts the same as reading books, and of course, it does! Research shows that listening to books as just as many benefits as reading books. Here's a helpful article from a professor of psychology that explains that it's not cheating to listen to books as opposed to reading them: http://www.danielwillingham.com/daniel-willingham-science-and-education-blog/is-listening-to-an-audio-book-cheating.
If you're going to be in your vehicle for a long period of time anyway, you might as well make the most of it. Also, listening to the audio version of the books is an amazing experience. Listening to Harry Potter narrated by someone with an authentic British voice made Hogwarts a little more real for my kids and me than if I read it to them. Audiobooks would also be a great option for traveling for vacation or holidays. We love Audible, but there are other options to choose from. We've also used Google Play Books. If you have a library card, you can access CDs or audio files on your phone. There are so many options for audiobooks.
2. Keeping books in a purse or bag
I often feel like I need a magic bag like Marry Poppins any time I go anywhere with my kids. However, keeping a couple of books in a purse or snack bag is a great way to get some reading time in while you and your kids are waiting somewhere. Usually, there's waiting time with appointments, restaurants, and waiting for an extracurricular activity to start. I've been guilty of handing my phone over to my kids while waiting at a nice restaurant for our food to come, but I'm trying to do this less and to hand over a book instead or read to them while we wait. My kids are in separate martial arts classes, and I will sometimes read to my 6-year-old while he's waiting for his brother's class to finish. It's a great way to get in some reading time because I know by the time we get home, we're going to be ready for bed and will want to skip the nightly reading routine anyway. By carrying books with me, I'll fit in some family reading time and not feel guilty if I skip the bedtime story.
3. Bed Time Routine
I know, I just admitted to skipping the bedtime story in tip 2! That was for when we are out at night and I know we're going to get home close to the kids' bedtime or after their bedtime. However, if it's a normal evening where you are at home with your family, having a bedtime routine can help fit reading time into a busy schedule. Having a bedtime story as part of the bedtime routine will help establish reading time as a daily habit. Even if it's just 10 minutes of reading something with your child, a little goes a long way. There are tons of research to back up the benefits of including a bedtime story with your children that you can check out here: https://www.saatvamattress.com/blog/the-benefits-of-bedtime-stories-for-children/
4. Limiting Screen Time
This probably goes without saying, but a huge reason for kids not reading as much as they used to is because they'd much rather play video games or watch youtube if they have a choice. It's hard for reading to compete with screen time especially when some video companies purposefully create their video games to be addictive (cough, Fortnite). However, we all know that having unlimited screentime isn't good for our kids. My kids love their video games too, and it is hard to limit their time, but I know it's crucial for their development for me to establish boundaries. Making reading time a priority over screen time could help with setting boundaries and getting more reading time in. Having a rule about no screen time until the kids read for a set amount of time would be a great way to set a boundary. You could also consider having kids earn screen time through reading. The struggle is real when it comes to cutting back on screen time, but if we calculated how much time our kids are spending on their devices, we'd probably be able to take some of that time out for reading.
5. Monetary Incentives for Reading
If we pay kids for having good grades, why can't we do the same to encourage reading? I did this with my oldest and it worked so much more than I would've expected. I wanted him to read something challenging last year and I told him I'd pay him $10 if he finished the first Wings of Fire book which is around 300 pages. He'd read lots of Magic Tree House and Junie B. Jones books before that, so I thought it would take him a while to finish. I was wrong, he was done in about 2 weeks, and then I realized that there are 13 books in the series 😬😬😬. He finished them all within a span of a few months, and I was out $130. Now, he reads without being paid because he enjoys it. He might remind me every now and then that he's read so many books, and I'll pay him sometimes, but not always. The point is, that he doesn't read to get paid anymore. By allowing kids to earn money for reading will encourage them to make reading a priority in their own schedules. They'll make time for reading if it means they are getting paid. Hopefully, they'll realize how awesome reading is and might even eventually read without getting paid. It doesn't have to be the same price I set, but it could be for every 100 pages = $1. You can set the price for what works best for your family.
I hope some of these hacks will help families squeeze in more reading time in their busy schedules. Every little bit of reading time you can fit in your schedule will help make reading more of a priority for you and your family.
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