The Things You Don't Regret

I'm pretty sure I'll never be sorry for the hours I spent reading great books to my kids.

This has been a fun week. It’s great to be up and rolling again.

I’m going to wrap it up by posting this little piece in which I explain how I read with my kids. It grew out of an email exchange with AEI’s Rick Hess, in which I was telling him how I still read to all five of my boys together (even though my eldest is 16), and how this has become an important part of our family life. He said, “That’s good stuff, why don’t you write it up for Education Next?” And put me in touch with them.

It seemed like a good follow-up to my Tuesday post on Great Books. At least you can see that I’m not a hypocrite; I myself make a priority of sharing things with my kids that seem vitally important to me.

By nature, I’m very much a “mentor-parent,” and I worry sometimes that I’m not enough of an authority figure. (My friend Liz Matthews is all over that topic nowadays, and I warmly support her work but wouldn’t have felt qualified to do it myself.) Partly, I just think this is one of the best things you can do for your kids: Give them the best of yourself. Share the things you really love and understand.

It’s also the most fun way to parent. For years now, I haven’t really had time to revisit favorite books for my own pleasure, but if you’re doing it with the kids, that’s just good momming.

Anyway. Thanks to everyone who participated this week. Enjoy my little missive, “Reading to Your Kids Can Be Far More Than a Routine.”