How To Raise Discerning Readers

Talk to any other parent and the subject is bound to come up: what do you expose your children to and what do you protect them from? Books. Movies. Music. Influences abound in our culture and so do the choices that parents must make.

As a writer, books are very important to me. I want my children to be well-read and discerning. I want them to be exposed to many different types of writing, genres, and authors. I want them to love books and love writers - even if those writers don't love Jesus.

So how does a parent teach their children to discern what is true and good as they sample widely from a world full of words? Here are a few thoughts:

Establish a Track Record of Reading to Your Children: a love of literature is Caught, not Taught. Read to your children often. If you love reading, chances are they will love it as well.

Establish Relationship With Your Children: when your children know they are loved, they will trust your values - thus your choices in literature and your opinions as well.

Ask Questions: after finishing a book, ask your children questions and help them learn to think about what they just heard/read. Was that character good or bad? Why? What did you like about the book? What didn't you like? If you had written the book would you have changed anything? Why? Do you think God would be pleased or saddened by what that character did?

Read Age Appropriate Books: emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical development all play into what books should be read and when. Allow your children to read a variety of books, but not necessarily right now. Wait until they can think through the messages. For now they may be perfectly content to read picture books and easy readers. They may not be ready for anything heavier. (Mine certainly aren't. We are content to read the simple things right now).

Prepare More, Protect Less: as your children grow, switch gears from protection to preparation. Jesus didn't protect his disciples from the world, he prepared them for it.

My boys are very little right now, so it is good for me to closely guard everything they are exposed to. But over the coming months and years I will slowly loosen that grip and make sure they are prepared for the world that awaits them when they leave our home.

Teach Them HOW To Think, Not WHAT To Think: You will not always be able to filter what your children read (or see or hear for that matter). They must be able to form solid judgments when you are not present and they won't be able to do that unless you teach them how.

I don't want my boys to be dependent on my opinions. I want them to be able to form their own. Again, one of the best ways to do this is ask questions - and listen to the answers. Give your children the freedom to have a different opinion. In my home there are two camps: those who like Mac N' Cheese, and those who don't. Those who dislike it (London and I) are not made to feel stupid by those who do (Daddy, Parker, and Marshall). Though Mac N' Cheese is hardly controversial, I want my boys to have the freedom to like something I don't. I pray that respect of preference will extend to books and movies and music as well.

Point Them To True North: we all need a compass and the most reliable one is the Bible. We read a lot of Bible Stories around here. My kids know about Daniel and the Lions Den. They know about Noah, and Sampson, and Elijah. They know that king Ahab was killed in battle by and arrow and that dogs licked up his blood afterward (such a boy story - they LOVE battles and heroes and bad guys). As I read to my children, and teach them to read, my central goal is teaching them right from wrong. If they can grasp that, then I will not fear what they read because they will have discernment. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.