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!

The Reading Habits of Children Two to Ten in the United States

After posting such a gloomy forecast regarding teens' reading habits, I decided to share with you a happier piece concerning younger children's proclivity for reading in the United States.

Children ages 2-10 are reading an average of 40 minutes per day, spending 29 minutes reading print, 8 minutes reading on computers, and 5 minutes reading on digital platforms, according to a new report from The Joan Ganz Cooney Center called Learning at Home.

For the study, the organization spoke to more than 1500 parents of 2-10 year old's across the country. 

According to the report, 62 percent of these kids have access to eReaders or tablets, but only 31 percent actually use these devices because their parents want them to read print books.

And where does television come into play? TV dominates. The research revealed that  children spend an average of 42 minutes a day watching educational TV.

U.S. Children's Reading Habits-Ages Two to Ten

After posting such a gloomy forecast recently regarding teens' reading habits, I decided to share with you a happier piece concerning younger children's proclivity for reading in the United States.

While the ages mentioned in this post span a huge difference in cognition, on an average, children ages 2-10 are reading an average of 40 minutes per day, spending 29 minutes reading print, 8 minutes reading on computers, and 5 minutes reading on digital platforms, according to a new report from The Joan Ganz Cooney Center called Learning at Home.

For the study, the organization spoke to more than 1500 parents of 2-10 year old children across the country. According to the report, 62 percent of these kids have access to e readers or tablets, but only 31 percent actually use these devices, because their parents want them to read print books.

Reading is definitely an important part of a child’s day, TV dominates. The research revealed that  children spend an average of 42 minutes a day watching educational TV.

On this blog, I've published quite a few helpful tips to help keep kids' reading interests high.  At the risk of redundancy, I'll list a few of them again:

1.  Model reading in your home.  If reading is seen as valuable to parents, most children will value books as well.

2.  Have reading material available everywhere in your home.  If books are placed in favorite areas such as the family room, kids' bedrooms, etc., research has found they will be read more frequently.

3.  Place word signs around so that young children can "read the room,"a technique that is highly successful.

4.  Allow kids to pick out their own books (with some guidance from you) in bookstores.  If they feel ownership in their purchases, books are usually read cover to cover.

I hope this helps and gives you some good news about U.S. children's reading habits as well!