Screens Down, Books Up: 4 Tips to Reignite the Spark of Reading

Getting kids into reading has never been more important. With the rise of streaming services and the decline in our attention span due to social media, picking up a book to read is getting more and more difficult. During the pandemic, I found it hard to pick up a book at all. I would often end up picking a Netflix show I’d seen 100 times and would watch that instead. I’ve definitely fallen victim to a shorter attention span with social media – especially the rise of TikTok! Short snappy videos were the only thing I could get through. A 400-page book? Forget it.

It wasn’t until only a few months ago that I re-found my reading rhythm again. With tablets and smartphones, I can’t imagine how a young child growing up in a technologically-driven world must feel, but that’s why it’s more important than ever to get kids reading. Here are a few tips to help you and your kids turn off the TV and pick up (or listen to) a book.

Read before bed

Reading before bed, especially reading a book to your kid, allows both of you to get in some much-loved reading time – and bond! This also has many other benefits such as long term effects on cognition, accelerates how long it takes you to fall asleep (goodbye, blue light) and, of course, gives you a much-needed break from the screen.

Try the one-sentence rule

The hardest part about reading is always picking up the book. With the one-sentence rule, however, we can trick our brain into making the hardest part of reading, the easiest. When you think about picking up a book, promise yourself that you will just read one sentence and if you don’t want to read any more you don’t have to. But what happens 99% of the time is that by the end of that first sentence, you’ll want to keep reading!

Put the phone down

I find myself endlessly scrolling through social media for a good chunk of the day. So the next time you find yourself on social media without any purpose other than scrolling put the phone down and pick up a book! If you spend those 2 hours a day reading instead of pointlessly checking social media, you’ll be surprised how many books you can get through.

Library trips

The library is the best motivation to read. Browsing the many aisles of books is usually all I need to find some great books. Setting aside an ongoing, regular library trip is a great way for you and the kids to get out of the house and encourages you to finish those books before you go back – no one wants late fees!

Is there anything you would add to this list? Let us know in the comments below!