32 years old. A lazy mom's picture book parenting.

Good evening.
I'm the mom of the Sato family, always looking for a chance to sneak a peek at my smartphone.


About half a year ago, we sealed away our TV,
and we are currently living a relaxed TV-free life.

The trouble is,
without a TV, there's no downtime for the kids.

As devout followers of the 'I love Mommy' religion,
they observe my every move all day long,
and try to drag me into playing whenever they get the chance.



What I, a mom who wants to make time for my smartphone, have been working on for the past six months is
picture book parenting.

It would be divine if they read picture books instead of watching TV.
That's how it started, with an idea as nonsensical as sleep-talking.

At first, they showed absolutely no interest in being read to.

Even at library reading sessions where the reader was incredibly skilled,
my kids were the type to run around.

Even so,
Mom didn't give up and kept at it for half a year.

Starting with poop, which everyone loves,
then animals, Santa Claus, food, and the toilet.
I collected books that matched the kids' current interests,
and read them endlessly.


It finally took hold after about three months.

The current level of engagement is quite something,
with an average daily reading time of over two hours on weekdays.

We go to the library at least once a week,
and borrow over 20 books at a time.

At home, I just keep reading whatever they hand me.


They don't have a 'stop handing me books' switch installed.


If anything, they mix stories by having me read two books at once,
or open several books to play 'find the same animal'.
Or play a game of guessing the names of creatures in an encyclopedia.

They are engaging with books with such rich imagination.


Thanks to that,
I have no idea how many picture books I've memorized.

I try layering lines from picture books into our daily conversations,

and if a gorilla carries a crocodile and runs,
Mom tries carrying her son and running too.

I'm engaged in some truly powerful picture book parenting.

With all that, as I continued this picture book parenting,
about a month ago, they started picking up books themselves,
turning the pages,
and became able to enjoy books on their own.

Even my one-year-and-one-month-old daughter
does something that looks like reading every morning.

She does it all by herself with great focus,
flipping back and forth through the pages.

She must be feeling something.

Surely.

Picture book parenting really took a long time to get off the ground.
Actually, I had tried and failed, feeling discouraged, many times over the past two years.
However, once it takes hold, it's zero guilt and the best value for money.

Today, they are absorbed in their picture books again.

And Mom opens her smartphone.



Is it the children who have grown?
Or is it me?
I'm not sure.

But one thing I can say is,
it's definitely easier to sneak a peek at my smartphone than it was half a year ago.

Thank you, picture books.
I did a good job.