Creating a Habit of Reading

This article is the first part of a two-part blog about creating a habit of reading to our children.

As parents, we all want our children to be smart and do well in life. We hope they will be successful and not be afraid to chase their dreams. We want them to evolve to be considerate and thoughtful human beings. And the best time to start is while they are young. But how can we do this without constantly testing our kids? We can do this by creating a keystone habit.

According to Charles Duhigg in The Power Of Habit, a keystone habit is one habit that will lead you to create other habits. “The power of a keystone habit draws from its ability to change your self-image” (Duhigg). So not only do our actions change but so does the way we see ourselves. One keystone habit that you can begin is to read to your kids whether they can read to themselves or not. By reading just 15 minutes every day, you are setting your child up for a lifelong habit with great benefits. Benefits that will help them throughout life.

Reading builds confidence, vocabulary, and can improve behavior. Your child’s concentration will be better, and they will be eager to learn more. And they can become more open-minded and understanding of others. This can lead to better, more fulfilling relationships.

Sometimes, though, life can get in the way and make it hard for us to read to our children for 15 minutes every day. In the second part, I will go over some reasons why we might not be able to accomplish this. I will also include ways to overcome these challenges. Ways that we can make reading to our children a habit.