One of the messages I want to spread to kids about reading is that they read like a grown up.
Before you start yelling at me, hear me out.
I’m not saying that kids should read the same books that grown ups do. There is something to be said for reading books with appropriate content.
Instead it’s how grown ups read.
I am in my mid-40s and I read a wide variety of books.
I don’t read to my reading level, I don’t even know what that is, and haven’t known for many decades.
I don’t read books that only feature characters that are a few years older than me.
I read books that are deemed ‘too young’ – picture books, middle grade books, young adult books, graphic novels.
I will stop reading a book if I’m not enjoying it any more.
I will obsess over a series, author, genre.
I will reread books that I love, especially when I’m looking for a comfort read.
I go through times when I don’t read a lot, and other times when I read all the time.
I don’t have anyone gatekeeping what I read, telling me that I’m too old for something, or I need to read something else for whatever reason.
Even as a kid, I was given permission to read whatever books I wanted. I’m sure there were many that I read before it was age appropriate… however it didn’t stop my love of reading. Instead I learned how to choose books I enjoyed. Books that gave me a sense of calm when I needed it. How to discard books that weren’t for me.
One way to foster a love of reading in kids, especially neurospicy kids, is to let them read like a grown up.
