This blog appeared originally on Reading Force. Reading Force keeps Forces families close and connected through sharing and chatting about stories. The charity supports both serving and veteran families with free fun shared reading resources and books. Families can participant while on deployment and/or when at home together – keeping everyone on the same page.
A big welcome to our guest blogger Alison David, Consumer Insight Director at HarperCollins Children’s Books and Farshore. In this blog Alison talks about the decline in reading to children and highlights the magic that happens when parents and carers do read to children…
Everyone knows it’s important to read to children, but somehow in recent years it has been slipping back, so that now fewer than half (41%) of pre-schoolers are read to every day (down from 64% in 2012). It’s the same pattern with 5-7s: just over a third are read to daily, down from half in 2012. By the time they reach 8-10 only 1 in 5 are read to, often, at home. It’s no coincidence that fewer children are choosing to read, too: only 32% of 5-10s read for fun every day (down from 55% in 2012).
So what’s behind this change? Family life is so busy, time is tight, but increasingly parents are thinking reading is a chore and our new research has found fewer than half (41%) of parents think reading aloud to their child is fun for them.
Does the decline in reading to children matter?
It really does! Reading to pre-school children every day is a reassuring and bonding experience for them, it builds language skills and vocabulary, gives them positive ideas about reading and a great foundation for learning. As it’s happening less often, it’s no coincidence that children are increasingly starting school with speech and language delay.
We know that when children are read to, something like magic happens! They change their minds about reading because being read to is wonderful: children love having dad or mum’s focused attention, it’s special time just for them, it’s reassuring and relaxing. It’s so much fun to share a story, to talk about it, to laugh together; they feel wrapped up in love. These happy feelings result in them wanting to read themselves: among 5-11s, 66% choose to read every day when they are read to daily by their parents, but if they are read to ‘monthly/less/never’ only 13% choose to read every day. This is why it’s so concerning that reading to children is declining.
A new perspective
I hope to show reading to children is less a chore and more something to enjoy! It’s precious time in a busy day when we get to be close to our children, to cuddle them, soothe them, reassure them, and when get a lot of love and cuddles in return! It offers super-charged bonding. It is great for communication: children feel so safe and secure that they talk to us about their day and things that may be bothering them – so much better than the usual response to ‘what did you do at school today?’ ‘nothing’! And we get to watch our children’s language and reading develop and grow, knowing it’s directly because we are reading aloud to them. It’s never too late to start, or resume, reading to your child, and no child is ever too old to be read to!
Dads and mums who have tried out daily reading say it best:
You don’t have to be an expert to do this, it’s something open to everyone. Children are not a critical audience – what they crave and enjoy is attention from dad and mum, and if you stumble over a word or two they really don’t mind. They love funny voices, so if you are especially good at a certain accent, use that (maybe a character has a Welsh accent, or Brummie, or London, American or French – anything you feel comfortable with and enjoy doing!). Do gruff voices, squeaky voices, muck about and have fun! Once you start reading aloud often and make it part of your family routine, you will be amazed at the effect it has on your child’s wellbeing and learning and on your relationship with them. Just a few minutes every day – 15 minutes is good – it will bring so many benefits and so much happiness to your family. Give it a go and find out for yourself – it’s definitely something to enjoy!
Alison David is Consumer Insight Director at HarperCollins Children’s Books and Farshore (who regularly and generously give books to Reading Force for family reviews and our Facebook giveaways), and since 2012 she has been researching what it takes to inspire children to read. Her ground-breaking studies include Print Matters, Print Matters More, The Reading Magic Project, Stories and Choices, The Lockdown Reading Club, Dads Reading, Storytime in School and Social Reading Spaces. She is the author of Help Your Child Love Reading, which draws on both her research and her experience as a mother.