An Act of Love

Reading 20 Minutes a Day is An Act of Love
By Courtney Schrieve, Director
 South Sound Reading Foundation, WA, 2006

Six years ago I decided to make a career change promoting something I love: reading. As director of the South Sound Reading Foundation, a local early literacy nonprofit, I soon discovered I had the best job in the world giving away free books, reading books to kids, dressing up like a yellow bear, and encouraging caregivers to read with a child every day.

I wrapped my arms and life around this message, making sure my own daughters had full bookshelves, and nightly bedtime stories from my own favorites like “Little House on the Prairie” or “Ramona the Pest.” They learned that trips to work with Mommy meant new books to look through. It was fun!

But then life got busier. Child #1, now a passionate reader, entered school and started reading on her own – at breakfast, in the car, after school and before bed. It was a tad obsessive but what could I say? She also started extra activities and to be fair, we signed up child #2 for activities too. Then came homework. But child #2 did not always get her full “20 minutes a day” of personal reading time and I felt bad (which she often used to her advantage to extend bedtime).

This guilt made me examine the mission of my organization. Was 20 minutes too much? I began getting creative and reading to her in the bathtub at night, or before cooking dinner. But it was tough. It was so much easier to turn on “Arthur” or “Clifford.” And after all, weren't these books too?

I am lucky enough to have a supportive spouse who also understands the bonding, academic and brain development benefits of reading to a child from birth. I still remember him walking Child #1 around the house and pointing out objects: “What's that?…a clock!” or in the mirror, “Show me the baby!” But recently he took a much needed hiking vacation leaving me to lead the single parent life for a week.

It was a whole new, exhausting world. Life would often begin at 6 am and we'd come stumbling home from school, grocery shopping and a softball game at 8:30 p.m. I had a whole new appreciation for the military families whose spouses were stationed abroad, the divorced parents whose three nights a week felt like eight, and the grandparents who were parents all over again due to life and love. How did they get through feeding, driving and laundry and still find time to read?

Our national organization recently looked at ways to “Take 20” – but not all at once. The average child watches 3 hours of television a day so surely 1/9 of this was doable? What parents don't realize is that you do not have to teach your three-year-old to read. That will come with daily reading at home, child care, and school.

What you can do is have them arrange magnetic letters on the refrigerator while you are cooking dinner. Or sing the baby a nursery rhyme and give her a board book to gum and play with while you change her diaper. Or have older brother read to younger sister while you read a picture book to middle child. The key is do your best and try to make reading a daily family habit. And if you were not raised as a reader or do not speak English, then make up a story while looking at a picture book, magazine or photo album. Or ask  questions of your child while reading – this can turn 12-page picture book into a special 20 minute experience in no time.

Is it worth it? All this extra effort? Undeniably yes. The National Commission on Reading showed that the “single most important activity to ensure success in reading is reading aloud to children.” If every parent or child-care provider read with their child 20 minutes a day starting at birth they would have more than 600 hours of reading under their little belts before starting school. Compare this with the five hours of piano practice a week or 10 hours of playing catch and hitting for baseball. “Take 20” doesn't seem so hard in the big picture. 

So just like you “Buckle up for Safety” or “Put your Baby Back to Sleep” please “Take 20” to help your child read and succeed when they grow up. It's a third of an hour out of 24 well spent.