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When it comes to making New Year’s resolutions, we always have a few focused on our own reading habits. We tell ourselves that this year we are going to start a book club, read that book we skipped in high school, or (finally) get through Anna Karenina. But, we know that the most important reading that can be done is that which is shared with a child. To help you be the Literacy Champion in your family and encourage your child’s literacy skills and continued love of learning through 2017, we’ve compiled some of our favorite reading resolutions: 

• I resolve… to clean out the box of board books in the attic that my child “outgrew” and decide which ones we will keep and which will be donated to the library or a family friend so they can be enjoyed by new children.
• I resolve… to show my child that my library card is the most valuable thing in my wallet. Not only because of the books we can borrow, but because of the activities and community events of which we can be a part.
• I resolve… that if my child comes home, raving about a book that was read at school, I will find that book and read it myself so we can have excited conversations about it together.
• I resolve… to read a book with my child that exposes them to another culture, family structure, or struggle that will allow us to expand our empathy and understanding of the world.
• I resolve… to accept that there are certain children’s literature classics that my child may never enjoy. And when they pick up another mass-market paperback about superheroes, that’s okay because they are more likely to read books they are interested in than ones that are forced upon them.
• I resolve… to not criticize any book that my child loves. Because, while I might be sick of reading about fire trucks or think that the princess-fairy doesn’t break far enough away from gender stereotypes, no good comes from an adult rolling their eyes and implying that my child’s choices aren’t important.
• I resolve… to never, ever take Where the Wild Things Are or Iggy Peck, Architect off the bookshelf.
• I resolve… to not letting my kid watch any Harry Potter movie until the book has been read first (this also goes for The Hunger Games, The Little Prince, or any book we could bond over).
• I resolve… to encourage my child to read out loud to me more often (and to express how proud I am that the little baby I used to hold can now read a whole book).

We know there are so many more reading resolutions to be made and that is why RIF continues to put new books and reading materials in the hands of children across the country who need them. Check out our literacy activities and resources to encourage your inner Literacy Champion all year long.