Every generation worries about the next one. But something genuinely feels different today.
Teachers are talking about children who struggle to stay focused during lessons. Parents are noticing that a few quiet minutes with a book can feel harder than an hour on a screen. Many children are growing up surrounded by content, yet spending less time with stories that ask them to think, imagine and reflect.
The question is no longer whether children are reading enough.
It is what they are reading, and whether those stories are helping them grow.
Schools matter. Teachers matter.
But learning does not begin when the bell rings.
It begins at home, with conversations, questions, and stories.
A child who grows up hearing stories learns more than words. They learn curiosity. They learn empathy. They learn to imagine lives beyond their own. Those are not subjects on a timetable, but they shape how a child approaches every subject that follows.
Books cannot replace great teachers.
They help children get more from them.
Across Kenya and around the world, families are investing more in education than ever before.
School fees continue to rise. University education costs more each year. Parents make enormous sacrifices because they believe education will open doors for their children.
Yet many teachers say children are arriving in class with shorter attention spans and finding it harder to concentrate when learning is not fast, loud or constantly changing.
That should concern all of us.
If we invest so much in education, we should also invest in the habits that make education work.
Reading is one of those habits.
Children remember stories long after they forget explanations.
A good story can help a child understand courage without defining it.
Kindness without preaching it.
Failure without frightening them.
Hope without pretending life is easy.
Stories help children make sense of the world because they invite them to think, not simply consume.
Some children grow up in homes filled with books.
Others do not.
That difference has never been about potential.
Often, it is simply about access.
Finding good children's books is not always easy. They may be expensive, unavailable nearby, or difficult to replace once they are worn out.
Every child deserves the chance to grow up surrounded by stories, regardless of where they live.
My Hadithi was created to make great children's books easier to discover and easier to keep.
We write and illustrate our own books. We group them by CBE level so you can pick a shelf that fits your child. They are not school textbooks, and they are not from KICD.
Parents can build a digital bookshelf that grows with their child.
Children can return to the books they love, again and again.
Every book unlocked stays on your family's bookshelf, ready for today's reader and tomorrow's.
Long after children have forgotten the lesson for Tuesday morning, they often remember the story that made them laugh, wonder or dream.
Those stories quietly shape confidence.
They shape curiosity.
They shape character.
That is why My Hadithi exists.
To help more children grow up with stories worth remembering.
Every child's bookshelf begins with a single story.Start building theirs today.
