I've asked a class of twenty 8-year-old kids: “Why reading is better for you then screentime?” and all of them, yes, all of them, enthusiastically lost their raise-your-hand-before-speak manner and fought for airspace to share how bad screen time was for them. I could see this group have caring parents who genuinely try to teach their children to make sensible decisions when it comes to screentime. 

After their knowledge was poured out and they were proud and happy about their contribution, I thanked them and asked the question again in a different way. “Wow, you know a lot about how screen can be harmful to you! Can you tell me why reading is good for you?” Silence. Even my most engaging students struggled to find answers. After a few moments, one raised his hand, then another. The benefits of reading, according to them was restricted to learn punctuation and spelling. That was it.

No child who could eloquently discourse why screentime was dangerous, harmful and could expertly distinguish between the benefits of educational and high-frequency-addictive content online could tell me why reading was good for them besides some basics of grammar.

Nothing about the development of creativity, imagination and empathy. Nothing about activating parts of their brain related to focus and concentration helping you study and learn other subjects (ok, ok, that one could be a far fetch to this age group, but not if you compare to what they answered about why screen time is bad for them). There was nothing about snuggling up to mom, dad or grandparents to listen to their funny voices or make funny voices yourself. No one mentioned that reading is nice when it’s raining or another personal moment. Of course, there was nothing about critical thinking, compassion, learning about other cultures, travelling to new worlds, nothing.

After leaving some silence to see if they would think a bit further, one boy said books are great because you don’t need electricity to read. “Even if the power is down, you can read anywhere you want, you don’t need to charge it.” – considering you’re reading a paper book and not an e-book, of course.

It got me thinking about what we are telling them as parents, educators and teachers. Are we operating on fear and forgetting about how pleasurable reading can be? Are parents even reading to their children to spend that time connecting and creating a pleasurable memory for themselves? 

I wonder if we're all so worried about not raising screen-addicted kids and teens that we lost the focus on how do we raise a reader.

How do we raise a reader, then? How do we make kids who don't like reading to read?

The answer is simple: make it fun and pleasurable. They don’t know why screentime is good for them. They just know how happy they are when they win a Pokémon battle on Nintendo. 

1 - Go to the library, let them choose a few books they like. Throw away some rules as long as the theme is appropriate to your child's mental and emotional maturity. Picture books if they’re 10? Let them. Comic books? Go for it. Not all children will love to read Harry Potter, but they will all find comfort (and all the benefits of reading) in a particular type of story.

2- Read yourself. Let your children see you away from your phone and into a book. You can even create a book club at home. Gift books and gift cards from bookstores to their friends and to them on their birthday, Christmas or other special occasion. Ask for books in your present list for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or birthdays.

3- You can even encourage their reading by watching movies based on books. You can get the books at the library or buy them. Ask questions such as, “Do you think it was a good adaptation? What is different between the book and the movie?”

Children don’t need to be taught the importance of pleasurable things. You don’t need to tell them why reading is good for them, you just need to give plenty of opportunities for them to explore. Everything else, is bonus. And remember: pleasure, not pressure, raises lifelong readers.