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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU to be shocked at new survey re children and books?

178 replies

mrscoleridge · 08/12/2011 17:17

New survey out seems to suggest that 4 million children do not have a book at home. AIBU to think this is completely unbelievable especially when cost is mentioned. I thought libraries were free and that you can pick up books for next to nothing on ebay/charity shops/second hand on Amazon etc. Our literacy rate is near the bottom of the table in Europe and no wonder; bet lots of theses households have Xbox and all that twaddle etc.

OP posts:
Kayano · 08/12/2011 17:22

I have a bookcase full of childhood classics and a reading order and I'm crazy excited to read bedtime stories

And I haven't had a baby yet Grin

Sadly volunteering in a school I have noted that unfortunately a lot of parents don't seem to care about reading with their kids.

Link to survey please

StrandedUnderTheMisltoe · 08/12/2011 17:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

PeggyCarter · 08/12/2011 17:24

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CogitoErgoSometimes · 08/12/2011 17:26

Big thread about this on the News board here.

valiumredhead · 08/12/2011 17:28

Ds has a book case Grin

Dh and I have 2 book shelves each with favourite books but others get read and then go to the charity shop.

We also have an x box and all that twaddle.

zookeeper · 08/12/2011 17:30

It doesn't surprise me in the least. It's not the cost ime, it's that it wouldn't dawn on many many parents to buy a book for themselves or their children. Or read a newpaper for that matter.

Birdsgottafly · 08/12/2011 17:30

It would have been more helpful for the survey to list how many households don't have books in them. Also to split the survey into age group/ethniticity of children (some parents may not be able to read English).

FreyaoftheNorth · 08/12/2011 17:35

I'm surprised it's as high as a third. A fifth wouldn't have surprised me at all. A friend who has taught in schools in deprived areas has said before that often only a few children in his classes have books at home that aren't school ones.
Perhaps a high proportion of the schools studied were in the poorest areas.

PeggyCarter · 08/12/2011 17:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
mrscoleridge · 08/12/2011 17:37

Kayano that's cheered me up a bit. Yes may be better if survey was a bit more detailed.

OP posts:
Dawndonnathatchristmasiscoming · 08/12/2011 17:38

In a house that has around 3,000 books (no I didn't add an extra 0), I find that scary.

slavetofilofax · 08/12/2011 17:42

I find this really shocking.

How can you not have books around when you have children, even if you don't like reading yourself? It's like having children and not having toys, or a buggy, or a bed for them.

When ds1 started school he could read fluently (he has AS so picked it up easily) and as it was an infant school with mainly beginner books, his teacher went to great lengths to ask me if we had books at home, what sort of books we had, all sorts of questions about it. I was very surprised at the time, in a 'why is she asking such pointless and obvious questions' type way, and now I realise.

valiumredhead · 08/12/2011 17:42

Blimey dawn I thought we were bad enough when we moved and had to get rid of 400 books as we had nowhere to store them Grin

I realised yesterday while I was wrapping ds's xmas presents that I have bought about 15 books - it wouldn't occur to me NOT to buy books zoo so I am the polar opposite.

WhoIsThatMaskedWoman · 08/12/2011 17:44

I honestly don't believe that the rate that has increased from 10% to 30% in 5 years - that must be down to screwy methodology, surely.

PeggyCarter · 08/12/2011 17:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

nativitywreck · 08/12/2011 17:52

I have read to ds since he was 3 months old, every night.
He has always loved it, and basically learned to read by osmosis at 3 .5 yrs because he enjoyed looking at books so much, and knew so many of them by heart.
It's so important to read to them because it instills a love of books and reading, and the idea that ideas and information can come from books.

I did nothing else at all. No educational toys (only plastic crap!) no phonics (still not sure what that is!) no hot housing, just stories, and good ones.

In fact I bypassed baby books really and went pretty quickly onto Julia Donaldson, Shirley Hughes, Judith Kerr etc, purely to keep myself entertained, but he seemed to enjoy them even without completely understanding.

Just about to start Roald Dahl, and really looking forward to Harry Potter!
We get most of our books from the charity shops.

WhoIsThatMaskedWoman · 08/12/2011 18:03

18,000 is a really big sample, if it was representative, but I have doubts about how representative it was.

Marymaryalittlecontrary · 08/12/2011 18:16

To be honest it doesn't surprise me at all. A few years ago it would have done but not now. I have people in my own family who don't buy books/ go to the library for their children. When my nephew was 3 I explained it would be a good idea to get him used to listening to stories as at nursery he'd probably have at least one a day. His mum was surprised at that as she'd never read to him and he didn't have any books. They are a 'nice' family, so I definitely don't think it's just kids from deprived backgrounds who don't have books these days.

PomBearAtTheGatesOfDoom · 08/12/2011 19:07

It's common here - we get Bookstart and they include a leaflet with cartoon strip instructions on how to read to your child. It's very sad, but apparently they're necessary Confused (or did, no idea if it's been cut or not) and there are lots of children who start nursery and have never seen a book - they don't know which way up they go, or to turn the page or anything. The only reading material they ever see is the paper or possibly a tv guide type magazine, and nobody ever reads to them until they start nursery. (school nursery age 3)

Tarenath · 08/12/2011 19:57

Both my kids have a bookshelf full of books each which we're constantly adding to, plus frequent library trips. I couldn't imagine them NOT having books. In fact, this evening I threatened my 4 year old with removing all his books because he was misbehaving. INSTANT COMPLIANCE!

I'm sadly not surprised at the statistics.

echt · 08/12/2011 20:08

Yesterday, my Year 8 students were looking at poster in the school library which asked the question "How many well-paid jobs don't require reading skills?".

Their suggestions were basketball player, personal trainer, interior designer. One child even said the poster was rude about blind people because they couldn't be well-read. Shock and :(

gamerwidow · 08/12/2011 20:09

DD is only 17 months and already has a bookcase full of books and we go to the library once a fortnight too. She won't sit still to listen to the stories but she does enjoy looking at the pictures and turning the pages. It is very sad that other children don't get the same opportunities.

greenbananas · 08/12/2011 20:29

A few years ago, I was employed every afternoon in a local infant school to read for 15 mins each day with a selected group of children who were struggling with reading. I talked to these children, and hardly any of them had books at home, or anybody to help them with their school reading books. Most of them improved hugely over the course of one term with this additional attention.

littleducks · 08/12/2011 20:42

I'm not sure about the methodology, when I wasabout 12 we had to fill out a really long questionnaire about drugs and as it was anonymous and we were bored and hyped up several people put that they were taking class a drugs regularly and other silly, untrue answers.

I think that kind of think is a problem with setting these things through school where kids may or may not want to take part. It might have been easier to tick 'nobooks at home' than go into how many bookcases, what types if books, how regularly you read etc

MrsHeffley · 08/12/2011 20:48

I'd like to know the ages.

I'm not surprised with older kids say 6 and above to be frank as they'll be beyond picture books to some extent and unless they are good/keen readers with access to up to the minute appropriate books they go through a stage when they're less enthusiastic re paperbacks.Said kids will probably have got rid of most books they had when younger.

Re cost,actually I do think they're expensive. I buy a lot from The Book People but I'm not struggling to feed/clothe my kids.If I was sadly my Book People addiction would have to stop.I can't afford full price books so do a lot of Googling for good prices.

Charity shops are getting expensive and contain a lot of crap.Not all libraries are well stocked.I'm a firm believer that to entice kids into reading and book ownership they need ready access to good quality/good condition books including those recently released. You're competing against screens in a huge way-at school,TV,consoles etc so books have to entice.A dog eared book written in the 80s aint going to interest an awful lot of todays kids,even my book worms.

Time is another factor.I only work part time and I struggle these days after school,clubs,tea,homework etc.Many families have both parents working full time.Many nights these days after hearing all my 3 read I realise I haven't actually read to them in a long while.If I an ex literacy co-ordinator struggle then to be frank I suspect I'm not alone.Do other countries have so many families with both parents working full time having to cope with the getting home from work/nursery/childminder pick up before they start all the rest and then get time to read?