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11/19/2004: "Read By Example!"

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is, "How can I get my kids to read?" My response is always, "Do you read?" That answer has surprised many a person, which always baffles me!

No one can force kids to do something if they don't see any value to it! If your son or daughter sees you glued to the TV all the time, and your books or magazines gathering dust, what makes you think they're going to believe reading is any good? How many of you actually did something when your parents insisted "it's good for you"? ;)

This is the formula which I always recommend to people who wish to encourage reading in their families: you have to do it too! And there are benefits to reading more. Your blood pressure goes down, you learn more, you save electricity, and you can even multi-task with music or a glass of tea. :)

One of the complaints I heard from a non-reader boy was, "Reading's too much work." Okay, let's think about that. Yes, you do have to run your eyes over the pages and think about the words, and you have to turn the pages. As opposed to the Idiot Box which throws the images and sound straight at you. But let's take this a step further: what would you rather have, something you had to work for, or something which was given to you? Which would feel better when you got it, a gift, or a prize won? The fruit of your own labor, or someone else's? Yes, books take effort, but it's like a self-winding watch: the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

I, personally, grew up in a family of readers. My Mom loves mysteries, my father reads nonfiction, and I was introduced to the library at an early age; TV time was limited to a few hours a week, and evenings were given over to a great deal of reading. I quickly discovered the innumerable worlds between the pages of a book. the results of all this were good: throughout grammar & high school my reading level and vocabulary skills were always a minimum of four years ahead of my classmates. Reading is still a big thing to me. To this day, one of the first questions I ask a prospective date is, "Do you read?" And while I have no children of my own to set an example for, there's still the possibility. In the meantime, I can help other kids and parents open that first page!