146 | Raising Readers in a Scrolling Generation

Let me tell you something funny…

When I was younger, I loved books so much that I used to say “the punishment I’ll give my children is not just ‘go to your room’ or ‘go and sleep.’” Nooo. I used to say, “You will go to your room and read a book.” And you will not come out until you finish that book. In fact, when you’re done, you will come out and tell me what you read 😂

And I meant it o! In fact, I still mean it. I fully intend to carry out that plan. They might not like me for it at first, but I’m sure they’ll thank me later.

We need to teach our children to read. I’m not just talking about helping them pass their school exams. I mean helping them build a culture of reading, a love for books, for words, for truth. We need to raise readers. 

Reading is a skill. It’s a culture. It’s a blessing. And in this generation we’re raising children in, a generation of reels, emojis, abbreviations, and “lmao, lol, grwm (🙄, if you don’t know the meaning of grwm, i was were you are just a few months ago),” they will need that culture even more than we did.

It’s not enough to raise children to look sharp. We must raise them to be children God can use. Children that will carry and interpret His word, respond to the times they live in. And to be honest, much of that will come from reading.

Let’s talk about the Bible for a moment. Yes, thank God for audio Bibles. I love them, I use them too. But the Bible came to us first in written form. Not as an audio. Not as a TikTok clip. Not as a YouTube video.

God gave Moses tablets of stone, written by His own hand. That’s not small, right?.
The laws were written.
The prophets wrote.
The gospels were written.
The epistles were written.
And those writings were passed from one generation to another.

There’s something about the written word that just stays. I don’t know if it’s just me, but when I sit with the hard copy Bible, underline something, pause, go back and read it again… it enters my spirit in a way audio most times doesn’t. It stays. It roots itself deep.
There’s just something satisfying about feeling the pages of the Bible, or any good book with my fingers. Maybe it’s a “reader’s thing,” I don’t know 😅
But anyhoos, it’s a good feeling.

And that’s another reason I prefer hard copy books. Especially because most of our children will interact with printed texts in school and early life. So it’s great for them to develop that feel and focus early.

I don’t want to raise children who are lazy when it comes to reading. Because lazy readers will become shallow thinkers. And shallow thinkers can’t carry heavy assignments.

Honestly, I’m a product of the Word of God, and also of many, many books. So many of the things I know today started as seeds of thoughts that the Holy Spirit planted in my heart. But I didn’t stop there. I read. I researched. I practised. Then I read again. And prayed again. I did the work.

And now that I’m a mum, I want to raise children who can do the work too, which makes me wonder: what are we passing down to our children?

This world is deep dear parents. This life is layered in ungodly pleasures, desires, chaos and sin. The children who will shine in it, the children who will walk in the wisdom and power of God must be people who know how to both pray and read the scriptures, how to study it in-depth with the help of the Holy Spirit.  Those who search for the knowledge of God. Those who love the Truth. Those who can sit still, absorb and produce fruits abundantly.

Look at Daniel: when he wanted to understand what time it was in prophecy, he didn’t just pray. He read the books. It was in the writings of Jeremiah that he found the timeline for their exile. Daniel 9:2.

Look at King Ahasuerus: when his sleep left him, it was from the books that he found out that Mordecai had not been rewarded. Esther 6:1. That book changed the course of events. Saved a life. Preserved a people.

Ezra: the Bible says in Ezra 7:10, “He (Ezra) had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach it.”

First to study.
Then to do.
Then to teach.
That sequence matters.

Paul, deep apostle Paul, full of revelations and visions was still asking for books and parchments in prison. He said in 2 Timothy 4:13: “When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.” He never stopped reading.

Jesus Christ, at age 12 was sitting among teachers, asking questions. That’s a student. That’s a reader. That’s someone who values learning.

We are doing our children a favour when we teach them to love books. Not just academic books. Bible stories. Devotionals. Wisdom books. Biographies of people who walked with God. Even wholesome fun stories (that align with the word and principles of God) that open their mind and imagination.

Let your children see you reading. Let them catch you with a book in your hand. Let them grow up knowing that reading is part of life, not just for school, but for life and for God.

Despite the digital age we are in, I am still learning to prefer hard copy books in front of them. Because most of their early interactions in school will be with hard copy, not digital. Let them get used to it.

Some things I’m doing (or trying) to build this Culture in My Home:

• Read to them regularly. Doesn’t matter if they don’t understand everything.
• Talk about the books they read. Even one line is enough. Ask them what stood out for them. 
• Let reading be part of bedtime or afternoon quiet time.
• Celebrate finishing a book
• If, like my son, they bring books to you to read to them, please don’t turn them down.

For those who are just about to introduce this culture to their children, I know it won’t always be easy. They might resist it at first. But don’t worry. Keep at it. One book, one page, one story at a time, you are planting seeds they’ll thank you for later. Just like we thank the people who exposed us to good books, truth, and the word of God..

We’re raising children who will know the Lord and walk in wisdom, and one of the tools that will shape them is their relationship with the written word of God. The Bible is powerful. Books are powerful.. And if we plant this early, it will bear fruit later.

We’re not just raising kids who know how to pass exams. We’re raising children who will know how to search the scriptures, study it and find answers in the Word and in life.
It’s one of the best gifts we can give our children..