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Were you hoping for something more exciting? Like a blankie for your boredom. You don’t really need it. But sometimes it makes them feel comfier.  Now they have learned a great life skill. The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read. You might be thinking, what  in  the  world  will  my  kids  do  with  all  of  their  spare  time?  Are  they  going  to complain  of boredom  for  two  weeks  straight?  You  won’t  be left hanging.  And  now  we  are  going  to  discuss  replacing  much  of  their  newly  vacant  time  with  something  productive,  fun,  and  beneficial.  They  are  in  fact  a  secret  portal  to  uncharted worlds. I suggested that if someone  were  to invent a vitamin that offered the following benefits, parents would line  up for  miles to get their hands on it. It is naturally  occurring, and  there are zero side effects. Oh,  and your  neighborhood  has a free dispensary. Also,  it’s legal,  and  not just in California. 
A Great Day For  Freedom
What  is  this magic  vitamin? Reading requires practice, as with any  learned  skill. Like baseball or piano,  the more  you  do it, the better you become.  And  the  less  you  practice,  the  wonkier  you  will  be.  And  yet  the  majority  of  our  kids  are  not  reading  for  pleasure.  They  are  not  developing  this  free  skill  that  will  change  the  trajectory  of  their  future.  My  kids  spend  all  day  at  school.  We  are  talking  about  the  kind  of  reading  that  transports  you  to  another  time  and  place,  the  kind that you do for pleasure. The kind of reading that  changes  your life. We  are  giving  our  kids a lifetime gift when  we cultivate  a love for reading. The earlier  the better.  Hook  them on reading because it’s pleasurable.  But a  lovely  and sneaky thing happens along the way.  Back Into The Universe
They  learn deep thinking,  delayed  gratification,  empathy.  Encouraging  them to read for pleasure turns  out to  be  both enjoyable and educationally enriching.  When we  mentally segment our kids’ educational time,  assuming that  their  learning happens during school and  their  leisure happens  at home,  we  miss  out  on  an  enormous  window  of opportunity. By the end of eighth  grade,  a  child  has  spent  9,000  hours  in school,  compared  with  95,000  hours  outside  school.  If  our  kids are not reaching  their  potential  in  reading,  we  can  hardly  blame  the  teachers.  Teachers fill  their  instructional  hours  with  what  the  state  mandates  them  to  teach.  There  is  only  so  much  time  in  the  school  day.  Parents,  on the  other  hand,  have the freedom  to  introduce  enriching  learning  experiences  in  a  fun  way.  Kindling  a love  of reading  starts  at  home.  What  an  incredible  opportunity  parents  have  to  instill  passion  for  a  skill  with  innumerable  benefits,  and  which  happens  to  be  tremendously  enjoyable!  But  my  child  doesn’t  like  to  read.  This,  my  friend,  is  not  a  thing.  I  say  this  sympathetically  but  also  confidently,  as  a  fellow  parent  who  spent  many  years  believing the same thing.  The Pain To Seem Purposeful
Your  mission  is  to  play  matchmaker.  Using  your  observations  about  interests and skill sets, you will find this step a fun and gratifying challenge.  And I’m  here beside  you  to  help.  If  you  were unable to check  any  of  the  boxes  above,  I  hate  to  be  the person  to  tell  you  this,  but  your  child is actually protozoa.  The  good  news  is  that  protozoa are even easier  to  digitally  detox  than  children!  A  huge  part  of our  job  as  parents  is  to  inform  our  kids’  desires  as  they grow. One  of my babies  would  crawl  around  the  yard,  picking  up  every  single  object in her  path.  She would  promptly  deposit  the  object  into  her  mouth, chew it,  then  spit  it  out  or  eat  it,  depending  on  her  satisfaction  level.  Sometimes,  the  object  would  be  a  stray  Cheerio.  Other  times,  the  object  would  be  much,  much  worse.  Spit  it  out!  to  educate  this  little  love  that  just because it’s there, doesn’t  mean you should eat  it.  Duh, for  the rest  of  us.  But  for a newb  like  her,  this was  part  of  learning  how  the world  works.  As  her parent,  my  job  was  to educate her desire  for  healthy  food  that  is  also clean  and tastes  good  and comes  on  a plate,  without dirt  on  it.  After she  was  done,  we bonded  over  Goff’s  zest for  life  and  commitment  to  his  faith. You may not share  my  faith.  But I  know you have things you want to impart on your kids before  they move out. We would all do well to number the days of our kids’ lives in our homes and ask, What  do  I  want  to  share?  What  do we want  to  cover  while  they  are still  under  my  roof?  Here’s  a  little secret that  you  probably  already  know.  Some  are  poorly  written. Others  don’t  have great  messaging.  I  do not  happen  to  agree with  folks  who  want kids  reading,  no matter the  message.  This  does  become  more  difficult  as  the  kids  get older, but  we  are  still  going  to  do our best.  Older  kids  will  have  had  a  few  years  to  grow in wisdom and discernment. Should I be reading this one about the murderous prom queen? Each has been  selected  because  it  made  us  laugh,  cry,  or  think.  Some  titles  did  all  three.  Many  public  library  systems have their own apps. Download  and  connect  it  to  your  library  card.  Often  parents  shrug  and  say,  Hey,  at  least  they’re  reading.  But  you  don’t  have to resign  yourself  to  this.  Mackenzie’s  observation  lifted  a  huge  weight  off  my  shoulders  as a  parent.  So  remind your  children  that  when Mom  or  Dad  limits certain  titles,  there  are still  millions  remaining.  It  was written  for  adults.  Hayden  is also  the  oldest  child  in  a family that  had  fostered  and  adopted  two  children. Might  as well  give it a  shot,  he  said. He just couldn’t  put it down. Ask people  whose values  are  similar  to  yours.  If your child  gravitates  toward  beautiful  pictures  and  illustrations,  place  those  titles  on hold,  stat.