10 Books and TV

My 6 year old daughter E and 5 year old son C love TV just like most kids. We try to restrict it for the most part, but it’s been hard recently with lots of us being sick and routines getting flipped upside down. My wife came up with the rule that before they earn their TV time, they need to read 10 books.

At first I didn’t like the idea because it put the value of reading on the outcome - TV time. I wanted my kids to love reading and they honestly already do. I guess my wife saw the same thing and there wasn’t any harm in pouring some gas on how much they read on certain days by dangling the carrot.

After a few of these very motivated reading sessions, I have grown to appreciate them. My kids end up trying to read really quickly and it is good practice to get those things done fast and correctly. They also end up reading more because they wouldn’t honestly read 10 books during a day if they weren’t being pushed. It’s a win-win situation and my wife and I use that time block during the weekends to get some extra chores done, exercise, or give our dog a walk. In reality, it’s a win-win-win situation since our dog gets his extra long walks during this time!