When life’s trials crash in, we want a well-worn pathway to lead our children to the comfort of the God’s Word. However, they have a formidable obstacle to overcome if they “hate” reading. So what should a parent do in a culture where screens entice our children away from books? It is time to take a lesson from a former generation’s playbook and take time out of our lives to read to our kids. Most kids will do anything to avoid bedtime, so that’s a great time to read them a story.

Do you remember who sparked your love for reading? My journey began with my parents reading me a Flintstones children’s book based on my favorite Saturday morning cartoons. In school, the Scholastic Book Club flyer felt like Christmas every month. Though they were on a budget, my parents always allowed me to pick three books. I devoured stories about Indy 500 racer A.J. Foyt and anything related to the great outdoors.

However, my passion for reading really ignited during my sixth-grade homeroom period. Mrs. Jones introduced us to The Great Brain by Dennis Fitzgerald. I was captivated by the story of Tom, a clever boy who outsmarted everyone with his “great brain.” By the end of the book, I was hooked determined to read the entire series and imiate Tom’s creativity. That one novel unlocked a lifelong love of reading and helped to shape who I am today.

I grew up before video games existed and TV shows for kids were limited to Saturday mornings. After a few hours, my parents gave the standard command, “Turn off that TV and get outside and play.” Today, screens threaten to dominate our children’s lives and one of the most significant losses is a love for reading. “In 2012, 38% of 0-17’s read every day or nearly every day for pleasure; by 2021, just 25% of children read for pleasure. Over the same period, children who said they “never read” has grown from 13% to 20%, so one in five children aged 0-17—nearly 3 million children—did not read for pleasure at all in 2021.” That concerns me as a parent—I wonder how children will fare without the creativity and love for learning that comes from reading. But as a pastor, I also wonder that if that many children are not reading for pleasure, does that mean that far fewer will open up their Bibles to read from God’s Word?

Reading is the doorway through which children access God. If we want our children to become the person described in Psalm One who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates upon it day and night, we need to give them a love for reading. If a generation of children don’t have a passion for reading, it’s unlikely they will open their Bible. Keep the Bible closed, and we lose the transformative power of the Scriptures in the lives of our children.

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