Quote from a sweet book by Mildred Armstrong Kalish about growing up in the depression in Iowa:
Without knowing it, the adults in our lives practiced a most productive kind of behavior modification. After our chores and household duties were done we were given “permission” to read. In other words, our elders positioned reading as a privilege–a much sought-after prize, granted only to those goodhardworkers who earned it. How clever of them.
Our parents did the same thing. And it worked.