Podcasts · Read-Aloud Revival ®

Best of RAR: Simple Habits for Nurturing Lifelong Readers

17 Sep 2026 · 30 min · Bonus

We all want our kids to be readers.

Not just kids who can read, but kids who actually do read. Who then grow up and keep choosing to read because they want to, not because they have to.

But there’s a curious thing that those of us who care deeply about raising lifelong readers tend to do, which is to treat our kids’ reading lives in exactly the opposite way that adult readers actually read.

We choose all their books. We tell them how long to read for. We ask them questions to prove to us that they read and understood the story. We make them write essays to prove their comprehension even further. And somehow, we expect that when no one is making them do any of this anymore, they’ll choose to pick up a book for the joy of it.

So today, I want us to think about this differently. Instead of asking, “How do I get my kids to read,” let’s ask the question, “What do real, lifelong readers actually do?”

Then give our kids more chances to do those things.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why letting your kids develop their taste by choosing their own books is part of their becoming lifelong readers • The question to ask yourself when you’re considering what reading to require of your kids • How to gauge comprehension without making conversation a pop quiz

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

• Read-Aloud Revival • Waxwing Books • Subscribe to the Newsletter

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/lifelong-readers

Links in the notes 3

• https://readaloudrevival.com/
• https://readaloudrevival.com/waxwing
• https://read-aloud-revival.ck.page/d22f467fe7

The episode on the publisher’s site ↗ (opens in a new tab)