The proportion of pre-school children in the UK being read to every day has fallen by nearly a fifth over the past five years, according to new research that warns of a significant threat to child development. The annual Understanding the Children’s Book Consumer survey by Nielsen Book Research found that while 69% of pre-school children were read to daily in 2013, that figure had dropped to just 51%.
The study, which surveyed 1,596 parents of children aged 0–13 and 417 teenagers aged 14–17, identified several reasons for the decline. Among parents of three- to four-year-olds, 19% cited a lack of energy at the end of the day, while 16% said the child preferred other activities. The proportion of toddlers watching online video content daily has increased by nearly a fifth over the same period.
Egmont, the publisher that co-funded the research, described the “steep decline” as a serious risk to child development with potential long-term social impacts. “It’s no surprise that parents of toddlers are exhausted – the pressure on families is enormous,” said Alison David, Egmont’s consumer insight director. “However, at such a crucial time in a child’s development, it’s essential that parents understand the enormous benefits that reading for pleasure will bring.”
The research also revealed that 21% of parents of three- to four-year-olds felt uncomfortable in bookshops, and 46% were overwhelmed by the choice of children’s books. Meanwhile, 61% of parents expressed concern about the amount of screen time their children were getting. Egmont’s Reading Magic project, which worked with 12 families, found that providing books and storytelling sessions changed attitudes, with all families reading to their child at least once a day by the end of the programme.
“If parents can be encouraged to read to their children, children will read for themselves,” Egmont said in its report, Creating Readers for the Future. The publisher called for a collective effort to address the decline, warning that children’s development is at stake.
