I read a scary statistic from Readers Digest that said since the 1960's reading to our kids at bedtime has decreased by 80%. I say scary because of the benefits of reading can bring each individual journey.

There are countless studies that hammer home the importance of continued reading for kids. Without reading and the constant encouragement from my parents to read throughout my life, I have no idea how my life would be different but I know it would be drastic.

The power of reading stories, learning from them, and escaping into them is such a powerful tool for the human experience.

Bed Time Tactic: Alysia from Siouxland Libraries told me about this practice from her family. The kids can either choose to go to bed, or they can stay up an extra 20 minutes and read. I don't know about your kids, but I know most kids will do anything to stay up an extra 20 minutes.

Erase Grounding with Learning: When I was a kid I had a tendency to get grounded pretty often, and my dad started getting creative with punishments. My dad would allow me to cancel out some punishments if I read certain books. I still remember the books, and they were always books that had some life lesson in them.

Making Money and Expanding the Mind: Money is often a great motivator for many things in life. If there is a certain book you would like your kids to read, but you know they might not be very willing to read you can try offering an incentive. The value found in books is a great thing to teach kids, and it may take some creative ways to show them this lesson. If you'd rather not use the money, there are plenty of ways to offer rewards for reading. Think of back in the day when they used to offer pizza as a reward for reading pages.

For locations of Siouxland Libraries and their programs check out their website.


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