Decline in number of children being read to before starting school.

[CrocusesFlowering]

This is just depressing to read.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/children-reading-school-laureate-phillipson-b2938529.html
Although it's a similar pattern in other countries. Finland is taking action to try to foster reading.
https://chytomo.com/en/helsinki-takes-action-to-reverse-the-reading-decline/

Sad, but not surprising.

Also of course the sad decline in both the number of libraries, the hours the libraries are open, and the drop in staff numbers, for staff to set up child or baby sessions within those libraries, which didn't seem to get a mention in the article (from what I could tell - they are always difficult to read around the adverts popping up everywhere).

Unsurprising

Why is it unsurprising? I am not being facetious. I really don’t understand. Why aren’t parents reading to their children? It’s so simple and such an easy thing to do every day from the very beginning.

It's not hard to find cheap books (I buy most secondhand) so it must be because parents don't see it as important.

We have a fantastic library locally, it offers a whole host of parent and toddler groups and really tries hard to get people in.

I work in a school 10 minutes walk away so we take our children throughout the year and they love it. This year not one of our reception cohort had been before we took them to first time.

Sadly reading to children and enjoying books together just isn’t high on the priorities for many parent.

It’s really sad. My DD could read before starting school and it wasn’t exactly unheard of. I expect preschool kids are just using iPads and TV now.

Pre-internet, everyone always used to blame a lack of information, and that if only people knew about (whatever), they would make informed choices and everything would be hunky dory.

Turns out it wasn't that. Some people just don't care/can't be arsed.

Books are available for pence at car boot sales. Sellers have piles of kids' books they are practically giving away and no-one buys them, so it isn't a lack of money or access to books that stops people from reading to their children.

Unfortunately, you can't force people to give a shit.

Dh started reading to DD from the day she was born, he’s read to her every single day since then, he even records himself reading bedtime stories if he’s travelling.

People can do it, they just either didn’t have the habit inculcated in them when they were small or they just can’t be arsed. Books are still obtainable cheaply (all my books were second hand when I was a child).

We’ve stopped expecting stuff from parents, feed your own kids, potty train your own kids, read to your own kids. This isn’t exceptional parenting, it’s the bare basics.

Why has it dropped off so much? Tech? But even then young children can't reand books on a tablet by themselves. Do they still have the book start schemes?

A hell of a lot of parents are useless. A scary percentage. Not abusive, not neglect (officially anyway, opinion wise may differ), just useless.

It used to be not bothering with bedtime stories and not interacting, just plonking them in front of the TV. I remember a girl crying in my Y1 class years ago because she didn't want to go home on a Friday because all she could do at home was watch TV.

Now with tablets, some parents are even naive enough to believe they are doing the right thing. Plonking a child in front of a screen to "read" stories or "learning games" like they are any kind of substitute for a parent actually interacting with their child.

I find this so sad. I grew up in the 90s, loved Roald Dahl, Jaqueline Wilson, Enid Blyton etc and I still read a book a week on average now. Every single night my almost 3 year old DD chooses a book to read at bedtime, we have new books, books passed down from family and friends, charity shop books, we go to the library once or twice a month. It’s really sad and I love that you have to use your imagination when reading (picturing scenes, characters etc)

Well considering there’s more & more children still in nappies starting school this is hardly surprising.

My dad always did our bedtime reading, he was brilliant at it - all the voices. We also had books on tape, and were encouraged to follow along in the actual book. He said he could tell I was reading fluently when I started to turn the pages ahead of the tape.

I loved reading to ours it was fun - we read throughout the day and they saw both me and their dad reading.

But bedtime reading was the best. They were clean, warm, fed, dry, cleaned teeth, everything they needed was done, so you could forget the world and escape into “whatever world that evening” with them. Them falling asleep mid-book was the cutest. And knowing the last thing they knew that day was you there reading to them.

Oh it was just contentment.

If parents choose not to do this, well apart from what your child misses you as a parent are totally missing out.

Those days long over for us but the memories will last forever.

It’s probably something else many think it is solely for the school to do.

It’s getting really tedious, aside from anything else, of parents thinking they can outsource everything to school. Might help if a tiny bit of social shame was allowed. But then you might hurt people’s feelings and we can’t have that can we.

That made me smile, I hope DD carries these memories of her dad with her forever. They are so special. Such a simple but beautiful thing to do.

I worried that I'd pass on my dsylexia so filled the house with books and took them regulary to the library and read to them from babyhood.

They still really struggled with reading at school for years but now late teens and 20s they are all readers.

Sure start centers were around when mine were little. As well as books kids could play with they often did a reading session as part of a playgroup.

The way to get kids reading is to get parents reading. Our kids love their tech (too much sometimes!) but also love reading. They both read every night before bed, love getting a new book, plan the books to take on holiday, etc. This isn't a parenting brag. It happened naturally in our house because we love reading and read ourselves and so it was natural to share with our kids. We grew up in reading houses. It's not about libraries or schools, it's about encouraging reading in the home. And maybe helping parents find their love of reading (whatever that might be, no judgement), so it becomes part of daily life.

I always read to mine everyday, without fail, and normally three books a night. This didn’t teach them to read. They could narrate a story we read regularly, as they’d learned by rote. That wouldn’t have taught them to read a sentence independently that they’d not read before.

Interested to hear how people taught children to read just by reading and not using phonics etc, particularly as the way phonics is taught has changed drastically through the years, so your average Joe Bloggs would not have been familiar with the correct sounds, etc.

Many children cannot learn to read by sight alone.

Reading with pre-schoolers is so important. I work in a secondary chool trying to promote reading and was talking to a teen today who has gone through 2.5 years of library lessons since year 7 and had made zero progress. Still has a reading age of a 7/8 year old. She puts no effort in, refuses to try. Sees no value in it. I explained this was going to effect her whole life. She just nodded along. So depressing.

This is so, so lovely, the way you’ve worded it describes my feelings about reading to my children so perfectly. 🥰

Does this not ring alarm bells there might be some unidentified Sen?

My son is 4 and he has been read to every night (unless he’s watched a film, or listened to his Toni instead) since I could physically hold a book (he was bottle fed so I couldn’t hold a book and read at the same time but I used to play soothing bedtime stories on YouTube whilst he fed!) We read 3/4 books and he loves it, it’s my favourite part of the day and really settles him, he’s a fantastic sleeper and is in bed most nights between 7-7.30. Honestly enrages me that some kids aren’t read to and you can tell which ones aren’t by the costumes they wear for World Book Day!! You can’t send your kid into school dressed as fucking K Pop Demon Hunters on WBD ffs 🤦🏻‍♀️

Phones are way more interesting than engaging with your child. For many.

Because it's easier to park your child in front of a screen than it is to spend time reading to them.

Some children starting school try to swipe a book's pages rather than turning them 😪