I do a lot of reading at my job — reports, e-mails, and memos. But because I’ve always talked about being on a computer all day, my son didn’t think of my work as “reading.” One evening he joked about growing up and “never having to read anything again.” I realized he didn’t know how much reading is involved in the workplace. So the next Saturday I took him to my office. I showed him the piles of reports and contracts I handle. Then, I scrolled through my saved e-mails for him to see how many messages I read in a day. “I guess reading is more important than I thought,” my son mumbled.

Now at dinner, I ask him what he read that day in school, and I tell him what I read at work. We’re learning more about each other’s day — and my son is learning that reading matters to grown-ups!