I am officially a crazy mom. I have threatened to ground my boys multiple times this week for doing something they should do. Something most parents would beg their kids to do – reading.
What is wrong with me?
I think I have completely snapped. Actually I know I have.
It happened about a week ago after I tucked my 7-year-old into bed. I was trying to tell him something for the third time and his eyes were down, his nose in a book. I snatched that book from his hands, tossed it on the floor and declared that he and his older brother were, “GROUNDED FROM READING!”
It sounds completely absurd as I type it out. I am smirking at myself. Who grounds their kids from reading??
But they just WON’T STOP.
They read while eating meals. They read while brushing their teeth. They read while walking to the car. They read while in the car. They read before school. They read after school. They read during school.
They read when they are supposed to be picking up their room. They read when they are supposed to be showering. They read instead of practicing their piano songs. They read instead of listening to their mom.
And that’s when I get upset.
I realize that I have brought this upon myself. I have passed down my bookworm genes to my boys. I have fueled their passion for reading by buying them whatever books they want and taking them to meet their favorite authors.
I try to read the same books they read so we can talk about and enjoy them together.
I’m sure the perfect day for all of us would be spent cuddled up on the couch devouring the latest novel in one of our favorite series.
But life must go on outside the pages and I’ve got to figure out how to teach my children (and myself) that.
Too much of a good thing could be bad. Even if it is reading.
Boogers on the Wall 