We Pay Our Daughter’s Boyfriend to Read- Part 1

Why We Started a Family Reading Program

Yes, you read that right—we pay our daughter’s boyfriend to read. Actually, we pay our kids and their boyfriends/girlfriends to read and we're going to tell you all the ins and outs of our family reading program!

It’s definitely sparked some curiosity (and a few raised eyebrows). Over the past few months, we’ve had some questions from friends, family, and even strangers online about how this started, why we do it, what kinds of books are on the list, and whether we’d recommend it for other families.

So, we decided to answer those questions in a four-part blog series. This first part is all about the “why”—why we started doing this in the first place, what makes it work for our family, and why we think other families might want to consider something similar.

Would We Recommend This for Other Families?

The short answer: absolutely.

This simple structure of incentivized reading has been a game changer for our kids—not just for what they read, but how they think, how they see the world, and how they engage in conversations.

That said, the “how” can look different depending on your family. For us, money has been the incentive, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Other families might create a point system, give rewards like special outings, or even trade it in for a fun dinner together.

The key idea is not the payment, it’s the structure and the incentive. When kids are motivated to pick up books they might not naturally gravitate toward, they build new habits and new ways of thinking.

Our Motivation: Inspiring a Love of Reading

From the time our kids were little, we always valued reading. Bedtime stories were a staple in our home, and as they got older, they developed their own reading preferences.

Our girls primarily loved fiction. We love that they were reading, but we also wanted to expose them to a wider range of ideas: history, finance, mindset, leadership, and other categories that would stretch their perspectives. That’s when the idea of a structured, incentivized reading program came into play.

Today, our kids are 19, 17, 15, and 4 years old (the youngest isn’t in the program yet, for obvious reasons!) This system gave our older three the push to explore books outside their comfort zones and start developing the habit of reading for personal growth.

How This Impacts Long-Term Habits

One of the biggest questions we get is: “Will they keep reading once the money stops?”

Our hope—and what we’re beginning to see—is that the answer is yes.

Reading is a lot like exercising a muscle. At first, it can feel like work, especially if you’re diving into non-fiction, business, or mindset books. Over time it gets easier and part of your routine. That’s exactly what we’re trying to help our kids experience: the long-term benefits of building reading into their daily lives.

We don’t expect them to necessarily keep up the same pace once incentives stop, but we do believe this has shifted their mindset. They now see reading as a way to grow, learn, and find answers when they’re curious about something in life.

What’s Coming Next in the Series

In the next post, we’ll dive deeper into the structure:

• What kinds of books are on the list
  
  
• How we came up with the categories
  
  
• How it works and the unexpected way our kids compound their earnings
  
  

If you’re curious about the actual book list we use, drop a comment with “book list” and we’ll share it with you. Subscribe to our email list in the right hand menu to get notified each time we drop a new blog (usually once a week!)