My Favorite Time to Read as a Parent

Reading is a great way to spend free time. It’s one of the best ways to relax from the other stresses of life while at the same time keeping your mind engaged and alert. You get to visit other times and worlds all while sitting in the comfort of your home. It’s pretty incredible what a good book can convey to you and what you can learn from it - try to find time to read books that you enjoy.

Of course, finding time to read when you’re trying to raise a child is often difficult. You will often barely have time to clean the house it may feel like, let alone spend a bunch of time reading a book. While it will definitely take some compromises on your part, you should make it a priority to read as much as you can. You likely have more time than you think, but it’s likely being spent on less than ideal activities.

My favorite time to read as a parent is whenever I have free time. That should be any parents favorite time. That may be in the evening before bed, or it may be while we’re at soccer practice and my kids are otherwise engaged. Whenever, you have a few free moments, pull your book out and read as much as you can. It’s the easiest way to make it through a few books a year even as a parent.

Realistically though, my absolute favorite time to read as a parent is when I make longer periods of time for myself to read. I work with my wife to make sure that every week I have at least 2 hours of uninterrupted reading time during the course of the week. That is usually split up into 30 minute chunks throughout the week and I get to go to a quiet place and read - it’s one of the best times of the week.

Making time to read is by far the best way to read, but there are other ways to find time to read as well. As mentioned above, you need to make it a priority to read. Take your book with you to the park while your kids play. Take your book to activities that your kids do. Don’t pull your phone out, but rather pull your book out to read. If you have a Kindle, this is really easy to do and is a great way to spend the time.

Beyond reading a physical book, listening to audiobooks is a great way to get through more books than you would otherwise. For many parents, an audiobook is a far more realistic option than a physical book as you can simply pop an earbud in while you’re doing whatever activity around the house that you need to and listen. As long as your child isn’t screaming, you should be able to listen.

Audiobooks account for over half of the books that I read in a year. I listen to audiobooks in the car when driving. I listen to audiobooks when cleaning up around the house. And I listen to audiobooks while working out. Whenever I have headphones on, you can bet that I’m listening to an audiobook. They’re one of the best ways to get through any book that you’d otherwise struggle with to read.

Find and make time to read as a parent. It’s a great way to spend your free time.