With the passing of Former First Lady Barbara Bush this week, there are lots of tributes coming out about her life’s work. She believed that every man, woman and child should have the chance to learn how to read and write. Her belief that everyone can improve their lives through literacy, led to the creation of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. (Her husband even wore book socks to her funeral). The purpose of the foundation is to provide access to family literacy programs, and to encourage families to value literacy and reading in their homes. Given her passion for literacy and her tireless work to promote family literacy, I decided to pay tribute to her work by gathering some of her best quotes about reading, literacy and parenting.

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“You know, sit with your arm around a little kid and read. It not only teaches them to read but it keeps the family strong”

Reading as a family not only encourages kids to love reading, but helps you build memories as a family. Starting from day one, you can teach kids to value literacy and learning. While a newborn can’t necessarily understand the story that you are reading, they are learning that reading equals comfort and love. Your loving voice reading the words coupled with your arms holding them gives them a sense of comfort that they will start to associate with reading.

“If more people could read, write, and comprehend, we could be much closer to solving so many of the other problems our country faces today.”

Barbara Bush strongly believed that literacy could open doors for people and help them make their lives better. The statistics show that reading to kids helps them to build a foundation for learning and reading that will help them throughout their lives. Encouraging literacy at home is a great first step!

“Libraries have always seemed like the richest places in the world to me, and I’ve done some of my best learning and thinking thanks to them. Libraries and librarians have definitely changed my life, and the lives of countless other Americans.”

There are so many amazing benefits to your local library. In addition to providing you with an incredible variety of reading materials, they also provide an affordable alternative to buying tons of books. My sister can read several books a week. The library saves her tons of money (and shelf space!). It is so important for us to teach our children about the importance of libraries and the magic that can be found in the books within. Once they understand the power of reading, the library becomes a portal to other worlds, giving them more knowledge and a healthy way to get a momentary escape from the troubles in their lives.

“Fathers and mothers, if you have children, they must come first. You must read to your children and you must hug your children and you must love your children. Your success as a family, our success as a society, depends not on what happens in the White House but on what happens inside your house.”

Success starts at home. So often we hear people blaming society’s problems on those in power at the state or national levels. While they do hold some of the responsibility, we also need to take some of it on ourselves. We can’t often control what decisions are being made by those in power, but we can make the decisions for our own homes and our own families. I can’t change how the President talks, or how a Senator acts, but I can teach my daughter how to be respectful and caring for others. I can do my best to raise her to be a decent human being, and hope that she spreads that to others in her life.

“The home is the child’s first school, the parent is the child’s first teacher, and reading is the child’s first subject.”

As parents, you have the best opportunity to start your children on the path to success. You are the first teacher in your child’s life. While this can seem like a lot of pressure, it is actually a beautiful blessing! You have the opportunity to lay the foundation for the type of person you want your child to become. Take all the best lessons that you have learned in your life, and teach them to your children. By giving them a solid foundation to build on, you can set them on a course of learning and succeeding!

“At the end of your life you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child or a parent.”

Time spent with loved ones is the most important part of life. This is such an excellent reminder when life starts to get overwhelming. Take some time every day to revel in the love and warmth of your loved ones. Turn off the electronics and sit down to a family dinner. Curl up together to share a good book. Open a board game and laugh together. There are so many ways to create memories together, and you can be sure that you won’t regret taking time out of your daily life to make them.

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