It’s summer time here in Colorado. When our children were young, I remember the first few weeks of summer being stressful and chaotic as the kids renegotiated relationships and expectations. There were fights to be sure, and I had to make sure screens were off limits at least until afternoon. The result: somehow they were all better friends than before by the end of the summer. Amazing. Most of them are adults now and they continue to be great friends, which is all the reward I need. If only I could have seen the future every time I counted to ten until I wanted to pull my hair out, or brainstormed endless solutions when I could hear fights were escalating.

It turns out it was invaluable. We could have filled summers with activities, but we tended to value unstructured time (think sometimes boring and sometimes full of fights) so didn’t sign them up for more than a couple things over the summer. We would also often have a family vacation and a couple family reunions thrown in there. I realize that not every family can do this, but I am grateful now that we were able to. The summer seemed to start slow and then before we knew, it it was over.

Now that my children are all mostly grown, I can see how valuable that time really was. A couple things always offered bookends to our day. The children always had a few chores to do first thing, and we almost always ended our days with reading as a family. Reading was my favorite, but they remember it fondly too (although they do jump in to help with dishes unasked now, and that’s super too). There is something magical about books for creating bonding time, meaningful discussions, and for offering a slower, more brain-friendly, form of entertainment than screen time. I’m not saying every family reading time was great. I’m quite sure many were chaotic.

We still read, but they aren’t chaotic anymore now that our youngest is in high school. But no matter what, looking back I wouldn’t change reading as a family for anything. When your children have problems, finding the right book to help them feel seen and understand can make a difference. Books can also open children to many new perspectives. We read outside on the trampoline, or on the couch, or on a bed, or next to the youngest bed because they had to go to sleep first. The good news: those that have children of their own are keeping the tradition!

Here are a few that we read. What are your favorites?