Screen Time Equals Reading Time
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
Make a deal to have as much reading time as you do screen time.
Finding time to read as a parent can be tough. There are a lot of other pressures on your time, namely a child (or multiple children), and there are plenty of responsibilities around the home as well. Reading certainly sounds like a good idea, but when it comes to actually doing it, you will often find plenty of other things that you can be doing. That does not mean you can’t do it, just that you will have to put effort into doing it.
In order to find time to read, take a look at our tips for finding time to read as a parent - you might be surprised how much time there actually is in a day to get some reading in. Whether it be at night before bed, in the middle of the day while you’re doing dishes, or simply when you’re at the park with your child, there are several opportunities to read. However, sometimes you’ll even find that hard.
Another thing you should do is to step back and take a look at how much time you’re spending on your phone or other devices during the day. Lots of people, myself included, spend way too much time browsing social media and looking at other online content. Facebook, Instagram, and other social media apps take up a huge majority of a person’s time usually, and there’s generally no benefit to it.
Rather than browsing social media, you should read. In order to make this happen, you need to do one of two things - delete the social media apps from your phone (or delete your social media accounts completely), or else get a dedicated device, such as a Kindle, that you can use for reading. A dedicated reading device allows you to focus on reading without getting distracted by the other apps on your phone.
If you’re not totally dedicated to removing social media, then make a deal with yourself that you will read as many minutes each day as you spend browsing social media. If you spend 15 minutes on social media, that’s 15 minutes of reading that you’ll do (at least). The more time you spend on social media, the more time you’ll spend reading. This will force you to spend more time reading, and less time browsing.
To make this most effective, you should spend your reading time first. Your reading unlocks your social media time. If you don’t go this route, then it’s going to become very easy to not have time for your reading. Unlocking your social media makes reading the gate to open up more time on your phone. When you need a break in the middle of the day, go for your Kindle instead of your phone.
You can use similar strategies with your child as well if they have a phone and are spending too much time on it. Spending time on a phone isn’t necessarily all bad, however, if that’s all you’re doing and you’re neglecting your responsibilities, then it is a bad thing. The same goes for kids. Reading will help to engage their brains in a way that social media and games do not.
Use reading as the gate to other forms of media. You may find that you actually enjoy reading more than wasted time on social media.
