Fretting about your kids not reading enough? These NYT editors offer their counsel

Raising children can be challenging. Raising children in a time when technological advances skew traditional modes of learning can be even harder.

Modern children are expected to read at advanced levels, and at younger and younger ages. But many children prefer screen technology to books. Before you’re tempted to take away the tech to boost a young child’s vocabulary, you might want to listen to what New York Times editors Maria Russo and Pamela Paul have to say.

Russo and Paul spoke to a Town Hall Seattle audience on Jan. 13 about their new book How to Raise a Reader. The event was moderated by author Maria Semple and produced an evening filled with practical and advice-laden conversation. Both editors challenge parents to focus on building an environment that fosters a love of reading in their children.

How to Raise a Reader offers curated reading lists and ways to engage and entice reluctant readers. By debunking common myths and curbing overzealousness, Russo and Paul encourage parents to relax and take more non-judgmental stances in their children’s reading choices.

Paul is the editor of The New York Times Book Review and oversees book coverage at The New York Times. She also hosts The Book Review, a weekly podcast.

Russo is the children’s books editor of The New York Times Book Review. She has been a writer and editor at The Los Angeles Times, The New York Observer, and Salon.

Semple is the author of the novels Today Will Be Different, This One is Mine, and Where’d You Go, Bernadette.

Special thanks to Jennie Cecil Moore for recording the conversation.