My 10 year old used to read a book a week but over the last month, she completely hit a wall. She hasn't picked up a book voluntarily in weeks. How do you handle reading slumps with older kids without nagging them and making it worse?
My 8 year old used to love bedtime stories but lately getting them to sit down and read independently for 15 minutes a day feels like a constant negotiation. We tried physical reward charts on the fridge but the excitement wore off after a week. Between screen time competition and school requirements, how are you encouraging genuine children reading habits at home?
Getting decent local bookings but international travelers barely convert. They view, sometimes ask a question then disappear. I have already tried improving photos, lowering prices at the start even adding extra info for first-time visitors… but it still feels like there is a trust gap. So how u make someone from us visiting Brazil for the first time!
I run outdoor kayak and eco tours around the Florida Everglades and most of our bookings currently come from a mix of direct website traffic and one or two large marketplaces. I used to hear a lot about Airbnb Experiences but I'm not sure how active it still is for tours compared to a few years ago. We are heading into peak season soon, so I'm reviewing where we should focus our listings before demand spikes. Has anyone here actually seen consistent bookings from Airbnb Experiences lately or has it shifted mostly toward platforms like Viator or GetYourGuide and others?
I've been struggling with this one for months and i am feeling stuck. My daughter is 11. She reads when school forces it but never picks up a book on her own anymore. If she has a choice she goes straight to her tablet, watches YouTube or plays silly mobile games. We have tried limits on the tablet, family reading time before bed, letting her choose any book she wants even audiobooks. She will go along with it for a day or two then slips right back into screens and I am back nagging. I hate that I sound like I am punishing her for liking tech but I am scared she is missing out on building that reading muscle for later. I just want a healthier routine where children reading is normal and not a battle.
My 11 year old used to fly through books in grades 2 and 3. Fantasy, graphic novels even some children's books that were a bit above his level. Since he discovered his tablet and group chats with friends, reading has dropped to almost never. After homework he goes straight to YouTube or plays games. If I suggest book reading he says it feels like more school 😑. This really started during remote learning and never changed back. We tried taking the tablet away, setting timers, letting him earn extra screen time by reading, even a paper habit tracker on the fridge. Nothing has stuck longer than a week. I'm extremely worried about middle school and beyond, not just about his grades but about his ability to focus and eventually handle harder texts for college. Have any of you found habit apps, routines or specific children's books that made reading feel fun again?
Trying to build a full inventory of all AI in our development environment: models, agents, MCP servers, third-party AI APIs. An AI Bill of Materials we can maintain, audit against and keep current as things change. Part of this is also reputational: we want to know if any low-reputation or unvetted models are being used, not just whether the tool is approved. The more I read about this the more it's clear it's not just an internal concern. Regulators are going to ask for this kind of traceability and most teams are nowhere near ready. The challenge is most of this never went through any review process and one-off scans don't work for something that needs to stay current. Has anyone built something that holds up over time and how do you handle everything already deployed before the process existed?
Hiii (I needed to vent, so here is some context)
My daughter is 11, she is in middle school this year and reading has become her biggest enemy. She can read fine, school says she is on level but she treats any book like extra homework. Given a choice she will watch endless slime videos or minecraft streams on her tablet. If I do not step in, she will literally scroll until after her bedtime. The shift started around when she was 9 when she discovered tiktok. Before that we at least had a bedtime reading habit. Now even suggesting it gets me an eye roll and a sigh. I have tried setting screen limits, offering rewards for finishing a book, letting her pick any topic, even reading together on the couch. It works for a day then falls apart and I feel like the bad guy again.
I want children reading to be normal in our house and not just something for school. Has anyone found a routine or safe tools that helped your kids enjoy books again?
I started looking at scholarship applications thinking it would be a wholesome little life admin moment. Apparently the real experience is opening 14 tabs, forgetting which essay goes where and slowly becoming a cautionary tale about poor time management. I am trying to keep everything straight because somehow every scholarship wants the same three things, except not really because one wants a personal statement, one wants a video, one wants a reference, one wants my entire SOUL and one closes before I even finish pretending to be organized. I made a spreadsheet and it already looks like it needs therapy. I am also trying to figure out if these scholarship platforms that collect matches and deadlines are actually helpful or just another place for me to feel academically inadequate in bulk. So now I am just trying to organize this circus without spiraling. Do you use spreadsheets, folders, reminders, color coding or some sort of cursed system that only makes sense after three hours of sleep?
I am typing this half crying because I feel sick to my stomach about this. My son is 10. He used to kind of tolerate reading, mostly graphic novels before bed but would drop the book the second I mentioned my phone. Roblox and Youtube are his default nothing else interests him. I noticed it slipping around third grade when homework got heavier and reading became the thing he groaned about every single night. I thought I was being clever and made a reading habit tracker in a sheet. Fifteen minutes of reading earned him points that he could trade for screen time. At first it worked and I got way too excited then tonight he found a way to cheat it by just ticking boxes without reading and when I called him out he absolutely snapped. I feel like I gamified his reading into pure transaction and killed any chance he would enjoy it. What precautions did you take to rebuild a healthy balance and make reading feel like something they want to do?
I am posting this while my 9 year old is in the next room yelling at Roblox instead of reading the book his teacher gave for homework. He used to sort of like bedtime stories then around age 7 he discovered Roblox (which i never liked), and apparently books instantly became torture devices 😣 How are you all getting your kids to read? I need honest answers!!!!
My kiddo turns 4 next month. We do bedtime stories every night, mostly picture books and he absolutely loves them. He can recognize some letters and a few simple words but most of the time I think he is just memorizing the stories we have read over and over. Lately I have been seeing other parents online talking about their 4-year-olds reading full sentences and I will admit it is making me a little anxious. I know social media is not always reality but it is hard not to compare sometimes. Are these reading habits pretty normal for this age or should I be doing more to encourage early reading? I am happy to keep reading together every night if that is enough but I also don't want to miss a window where I should be helping him more. I would really appreciate hearing what reading looked like for your preschooler around age 4.
I am at my wits' end. My 6 year old used to love reading with me before bed but lately every single night has become a battle. Trying to get through even basic children's books feels like a chore. He either wants to play on his tablet or just stares off into space, completely checked out. I have tried picking books that seem more exciting, letting him choose the story himself and even reading with different voices but nothing seems to keep his attention anymore. I feel like a horrible parent because everyone says early childhood reading is so important, yet bedtime has turned into a stressful routine that often ends in frustration for both of us. Are bedtime stories for children supposed to be this difficult at this age? If you have gone through something similar, what actually worked for your child? Are there any bedtime stories or books that genuinely kept your 6 year old engaged and helped them wind down for sleep?