Why reading in the home is so important

  Most kids find something they love -- basketball, dance, golf -- and when they find that something, they also find someone,  someone in that sport or activity they admire.  Usually that person is high profile and really good at what they do.  Our children watch these people, study them, imitate them. Because they love the sport, they love the person playing it.  And then by watching that person, they love the sport even more.
     The same can be said for reading.  While we will never see a reading marathon on television (can you imagine the tailgate for that?!) it is just as important for our children to see how much we love reading.  I am well aware there are some non-readers out there and they make amazing parents.  But what I know about these people is that they fake it well too.  They understand how important reading is and pretend they love it for the sake of their kids.  But what if... what if we all really truly loved reading? What would that look like in our homes? What would that mean for our kids?
     I grew up in a home of readers.  Both my parents love to read.  I am in a book club with my mom even now.  Because my parents loved to read, I saw them reading all the time.  They read the newspaper daily.  They read books, lots of books.  In turn, they read to me and with me.  For years, we read together.  Sometimes that together was the same book.  Sometimes it just meant we were in the same room together reading our own books.  On trips out of town, we took stacks of books.  Trips to the book store and library were frequent.
     I could quote numerous statistics to you, all you have to do is Google literacy and reading in the home and you'll see all the research that has been done.  But I can also speak to you from my own experiences and my teaching experiences.  Students who have parents who are readers read more.  It's not a hard and fast rule (but what is?) but it has almost always been true with my students.  Reading in the home isn't just for preschool and primary level children.  If we want our kids to continue to be readers, we have to be their reading idols, the object of their admiration.  We have to give them someone to study and imitate.
     No one said parenting would be fun.  I can attest to that firsthand!! But if we want our children to be successful, the statistics are out there and they are undeniable.  We have to raise readers.