Back when my two boys were younger, we read books every single day. Reading was as much a part of our daily rhythm as eating. We’d snuggle on the couch to read picture books. We’d read during breakfast if we were eating by ourselves. We’d read on the back porch and in the car and even in the pool.
We filled bookshelves in almost every room with mysteries, classic literature, poetry, trivia books, biographies, historical fiction, and lots of non-fiction catered to the boys’ ever-changing interests. And we practically lived at our public library during our homeschool years, borrowing dozens of books a week to feed our voracious book habit.
But then, technology slowly crept in and almost killed our passion.
One by one, screens sneaked into our lives, transfixing our attention with videos, GIFs, games, apps, memes, social media, and e-mail. Screen swipes replaced page turns. Bite-size online content replaced in-depth magazine articles and real books.
And then I read a blog post by an author lamenting her lost love affair with books and how she’s going to right that wrong this year. She decided to designate an entire day once a week to reading. This inspired me.
I love her idea and decided to steal it for our family, with a bit of a twist. As a busy family with work, school, homework, soccer, band, and more, we could never devote a whole day to reading as she does. But we could devote 30 minutes one night a week. If we could make time for an episode of “Modern Family” each week, we can surely squeeze in the same amount of time for reading.
With school back in session, it seems like the perfect time to institute Reading Night with our two boys. I can already envision the grumbling and eye-rolls when I tell them we’re all (my husband and myself included) going to shut off our screens a little early one night a week to (gasp!) read a real, turn-the-page book. But as a parent, I know I’ve got to power through the typical resistance to get us back on the bookworm track.
I plan to start with a trip to the bookstore, so the boys could pick out a new book. (We’ve all got Kindles, but I want to go totally old-school.) My husband and I will probably choose from the many nonfiction books we own but haven’t yet gotten around to reading. If all goes well, maybe we can even read and discuss the same book, like we did years ago with “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” (A mom can dream, can’t she?)
For our first official Reading Night, I also plan to weave in a little post-reading treat, like popcorn or ice cream. I can get my boys to tolerate just about anything if there’s a promise of junk food at the end.
But I’m up for the challenge because reading for pleasure is a habit worth fighting for in this technology-saturated world.
Lisa Beach is a freelance writer and recovering homeschool mom who lived to write about it. Read more of Lisa’s articles at www.LisaB
