3 Simple Ideas To Squeeze Extra Reading Time Into A Busy Day With Kids
Even in homes with kids that LOVE to read (like mine!), there are still days when life gets in the way of making sure children have quality reading time. Big kids have sports and extracurricular activities, little ones have naps and tantrums, and parents have work and ‘adulting’. Combine them all, and it’s not surprising many parents are often hunting for ways to easily squeeze a little extra reading time into their children’s busy days. Keep reading for a look at the 3 simple ideas we keep in mind with our own kiddos- at least one is bound to work well for your family too!
This post was sponsored by Amazon as part of an Ambassador Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
[Pssst… Wondering where I’ve been the last few weeks? We just welcomed our brand new baby, so I’ve been recovering from my c-section, and spending time with family. Stay tuned for further updates, and hopefully some baby photos in the near future!]
SQUEEZING READING TIME INTO A BUSY DAY
1. Provide A Reading Time Incentive
Busy kids may not always want to choose to reading time during their few minutes of ‘down time’ every day. For this reason, it’s important to find reading time incentives that motivate your children. Do they respond well to rewards like sticker charts? That may be the way to go for you. Be sure your children see you reading often for pleasure. Modeling themselves after mom or dad’s behavior may be all the incentive they need.
If you have a child that just can’t seem to resist the allure of screen time, think outside the book. Amazing products exist that provide reading time benefits on a screen without sacrificing quality at all! The Fire HD 8 Kids Edition Tablet is a great choice to encourage tech lovers to get reading. With an Amazon FreeTime Unlimited subscription, your child can check out a HUGE assortment of books, as well as videos, Audible books, educational apps, and games right on their touch screen.
2. Keep It Fresh
Just like adults, kids can easily tire of the same format or style of reading time day after day. It’s important to mix up their reading materials, to keep it feeling fresh, new, and interesting. If you make sure your kids aren’t bored, they’re more likely to turn to reading time on a regular basis. Providing variety can come in several forms. Check some out below!
- A mix of fiction and non-fiction books is ideal.
- Stock your library with a variety of genres to choose from.
- Reading time comes in many forms, so don’t overlook magazines, comic books, etc.
One reason we love our Fire Kids Edition so much is that it makes access to a wide variety of topics and genres super accessible for our boys. Plus, the parental controls that are part of Amazon FreeTime make it simple for my husband and I to steer the boys’ time on the device to learning, rather than play. (That ‘Learn First’ parental control is genius!) Parents can easily limit content, set time constraints, and monitor what their children are working on.
3. Take It ALL With You
There’s nothing worse than being stuck at a doctor’s office, in traffic, or at a crowded restaurant with bored kids. I do my best to keep a fairly well stocked diaper bag, but no matter what I choose, someone is unhappy with the options to stay busy. With the Fire Kids Edition, it’s SO simple to just throw the tablet into the diaper bag, and know each boy will have no trouble finding something to read that will interest them.Thanks to FreeTime Unlimited, there’s no complaints that “Mom chose the wrong book again!” Happy kids, who are getting extra reading time is pretty much always a win-win in my book*!
*Ha! ‘Book’. That pun wasn’t intended, but I’m a nerd and HAD to point it out!
Want A Fire HD 8 Kids Edition Tablet For YOUR Family?!
Enter for a chance to win 1 of 10 being given away. Entry is easy, so check it out below! Sweepstakes ends on April 3, 2019.
Amazon Fire Kids Edition Sweepstakes
I-C will randomly select winners from all program entries and Amazon will facilitate fulfillment of the winning prizes of 10 Winners.
Did you enter the giveaway? In the comments, let me know what sorts of books YOUR kids would download first if they won a Fire Kids Edition!