Literacy rates are declining, screen time is increasing, and experts are sounding the alarm on the death of parents reading to their children.
Though it is critical for their cognitive development, there has been a significant drop in parents, particularly those from younger generations such as Gen Z, reading to their children, and fewer are doing so for pleasure.
As the alarm sounds on what could be a burgeoning literacy crisis, Newsweek spoke to the experts to find out more.
Reading Time Down, Screen Time Up
Recent research and data have shown there is a clear pattern among young children and the media that they are consuming: reading is on the decline, and screen time is on the up.
On average, children aged 8 to 12 spend between four and six hours watching and using screens each day, and teenagers can spend up to nine hours on screens, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
Screen Time and Children
In 1984, the first year that data is available for, 35 percent of 13-year-olds reported that they were reading for fun “almost everyday.” By 2023, this figure had dropped to 14 percent, as per the NAEP.
NAEP Long-Term Trends: Student Experiences
A recent survey from HarperCollins UK found that there is a pronounced disinterest in reading aloud for younger parents. Less than half of parents of children up to 13 years old describe reading aloud to kids as being “fun,” for them; and 29 percent of children aged 5 to 13 think that reading is more “a subject to learn,” than “a fun thing to do.” Only 32 percent of 5- to 10-year-olds will frequently choose to read from enjoyment, which is down from 55 percent back in 2012.
Literacy rates in the U.S. appear to be decreasing, dropping nearly 10 points since 2017. In December, data released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) showed that 28 percent of adults in the U.S. ranked at the lowest levels of literacy, compared to 19 percent in 2017
Why Is It Important To Read to Children?
“There are so many advantages to reading together with your child,” Hugh Rabagliati, a psychology professor at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, told Newsweek. “Books help kids to learn new concepts and ideas; they encourage kids to engage in discussion; and they prepare kids for reading, through attending to wordplay and vocabulary.”
Carmel Houston-Price, professor of language and cognitive development at the University of Reading in England, told Newsweek over email: “For young children, it’s ‘book-sharing’ rather than ‘reading’ that best supports their development, as ‘sharing’ implies that the child and parent are not just reading the printed pages but are actively engaging with the book and each other; turning the pages, repeating the lines, talking about the pictures, relating the story to the child’s own experiences.
“Babies and toddlers often show interest in looking at books before their first birthday, particularly books with textures, flaps or rhymes that catch their attention, precisely because these types of books allow the type of exploration and interaction with the adult that is beneficial to children’s learning,” Houston-Price said.
She added: “Book-sharing also supports children’s early language development, both in terms of the vocabulary used in the book and children’s skill in answering questions and telling stories.”
Meanwhile, Maryanne Wolf, the director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice and professor-in-residence at the University of California, told Newsweek over email: “Few realize the multiple linguistic, cognitive, social-emotional, and neurological contributions made by the simple act of reading daily to one’s young child—beginning from the first moments they can sit upon a lap.
“Not only does the baby begin to associate reading with the emotions of love and protection, the language and cognitive circuits of the young brain are learning the sounds (phonemes) of their language, the meanings of first words, the slow appreciation of what books convey,” Wolf added.
What Is the Impact of Not Reading to Children?
Not reading to children, then, will see a loss of these benefits.
Houston-Price said that, without the opportunity to share books with parents, all these benefits are “likely to be lost.”
Wolf, meanwhile, said: “The loss of this opportunity by parents will ineluctably affect the acquisition of reading by their children in ways and the delight we want every child to experience when learning to read.”
Susan B. Neuman, professor of Childhood Education and Literacy Development at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, told Newsweek that, in settings where families aren’t reading aloud, and books aren’t present, “more often than not, children do not experience lots of things.”
“The scholarly culture that surrounds them early on, helping them establish a reading habit, less ability to attend to a storybook reading in school contexts, a limited understanding of the purpose of reading—joy, information, imagination,” Neuman said.
“Given what we know about early learning impacting on children’s later development,” Houston-Price said, “we should be giving young children the very best start in life, which includes opportunities to share books.”
How Can Reading Be Reintegrated Into Daily Routines?
So, what should parents be doing to help reintegrate reading?
Neuman said, “Parents should limit children’s use of digital media,” and should “consider a routine of reading to children regularly.” Other tips for parents include carrying “books with them wherever they go,” as well as “spending time reading themselves,” which, in turn, provides a “good model of reading enjoyment to children.”
And technology isn’t necessarily the enemy here. Rabagliati told Newsweek: “There are also some great technological solutions, like screen-free Yoto Players. These provide some of the same benefits of reading aloud, but don’t require the parents to become a human audiobook.”
Houston-Price said that parents should make sure there are “age-appropriate books around the house that children can access.” She added: “Regular visits to a local library might help to ensure there is variety on offer, but remember that young children enjoy repetition much more than adults do, so be prepared to read the same book over and over again.
“Look at a book for just a few minutes at a time with very young children, or for as long as they are keen to,” Houston-Price said, adding: “There’s no need to read a book cover to cover or to read every line.”
She also noted: “Many children enjoy the routine of a story at bedtime, so perhaps let your child choose a book and take a few minutes to have a cuddle and a read before bed.”
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