Finding Time to Connect With Your Kids by Quinn Cummings

1 // HAVE BOOKS available THROUGHOUT YOUR HOME

To encourage your child to read more, ensuring that they have exposure to books is important. If your family spends a lot of time in the living room, have books available there. If you have the books visible, they will be more likely to read them. Have them wherever your children spend time: in the playroom, in the basement, etc.

2 // HAVE THEM READ aloud IN THE CAR

We spend a significant amount of time driving to and from various places with our children.  This is a great time to add family reading time.  If you have children who are learning to read, they can practice reading their books out loud in the car as you drive.  If you have younger children who are developing pre-literacy skills, find a book that has an audio recording and let them follow along with the words as you all listen via the car radio.  If you cannot find an audiobook, let them have fun practicing by doing the best they can.  You will find that your child might recognize some words, or they will just have fun narrating the pictures in the book (this allows them to be imaginative and encourages their creativity).

3 // GET THEM INVOLVED IN DINNER PREP

As you prepare your family’s dinner, this can be a great time to read with your child.  Remember: reading comes in many forms, and reading is about bonding with your child and creating memories.  You may be wondering, “How can I read and cook dinner at the same time?”  Easy!  Read a cookbook!  Reading a cookbook will help your child practice reading just the same as any other book.  It will also create a great family experience that will be memorable for them.  This one may be easier with older children, but you can find cookbooks aimed at toddlers and young children as well!  Once you are finished, you will have a delicious meal to devour!

4 // READ TO THEM IN THE BATH

While you give your children a bath, you can read to them.  If your children are younger, you will want to wash them up and then read as they splash and play in the water.  However, if your children are older and are able to wash themselves with your supervision, you can read as they get clean.

5 // TURN ON SUBTITLES

When my son was little, we played music constantly in our house.  We mostly watched videos on Youtube.  My son loved it.  We always watch videos and movies with subtitles turned on.  This helped my son learn to read.  If you are having difficulty with getting in those 20 minutes of reading each day, use music videos and subtitles!  You can turn the videos on while you are cleaning, while your child is playing, or while you are cooking dinner and letting your child have some screen time.

As a single mom, maximizing your time by multitasking is your superpower! By incorporating these reading tips into your daily routine, you will be able to shorten your bedtime routine and reclaim a few minutes of your day.  Those few minutes can feel like huge moments when you are juggling so much for every other person in your life!  You deserve time for yourself and, hopefully, these small daily changes will give you that.