U.S. Children are Reading Less Books for Pleasure

Fewer American children are reading for pleasure than they have in the past, according to a new report from Common Sense Media.

The research revealed that the number of nine-year-old kids that read for pleasure once or more per week went from 81 percent in 1984 to 76 percent in 2013. The numbers are worse for older kids. Only about a third of 13-year-old children reported reading for pleasure less than twice a year.

Children who do read for pleasure tended to be those kids whose parents read to them and whose parents read themselves. Those kids who are read to by an adult spend about 30-60 minutes a day reading. 

So what's the future for our children's reading for fun?  My prediction is rather bleak unless more adults begin to exercise best practices in reading on a regular basis to their children.  Teachers can only do so much; adult caregivers must complete the picture.

Many young children love being read to by their special adult/s.  Buying your favorite child a book, keeping books they love close at hand, and having a regular daily or nightly reading time are but a few ways we can ratchet up an interest in books and stories.  Who knows?  You might love the time spent as much as your young one/s!