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/

I think it’s a false narrative to claim anyone is alleging they can’t afford books or reading/ writing work books.

we’re talking about books that have to be read, not purchased. A room full of books doesn’t mean they’re read each night.

These threads just become a pile on of struggling parents (for whatever reason) and paragraphs of assurances that they read to their children and faux naivety and ‘sadness’ that others don’t. Does anyone think three paragraphs about how much you read to Jemima and Sebastian followed by a few lines about how ‘awful’ and ‘sad’ it is that some parents‘can’t be bothered’ and ‘don’t care’ is helpful?

Exactly. Shows a real lack of emotional intelligence when the really interesting discussion is the impacts modern lives are having on our children, not dogid determination that 50% of parents aren’t performing to imaginary standards.

Also imo jemima and Sebastian’s parents are more likely to be time poor and exhausted than anyone else. My BF was a nanny for many years and she was there because senior professional families were not able to be home for this stuff.

she worked for an anaesthetist once who would regularly be stuck in surgery past her finish time. She’d crawl in at 11pm, pay my friend over time and collapse in bed to be back into theatre at 7am.

The cost of living has been high and climbing for a few years now, this is about children starting school so 4/5 year olds not being read to or even can turn a page.

Why aren’t more adults putting a tiny bit of thought into bringing another human into this world and being realistic if they can cover the basics? And the basics has included reading for decades.

If they won’t do it for their child perhaps pointing out how it can also be a pleasure for them, tap into their clearly selfish gene, might, just might help their child.

Small children love and trust their parents and it’s a disgrace that some don’t find the time or motivation to read with and to them. A few minutes each day can make all the difference. Instead of mumsnet say they could read The Gruffalo.

Children shouldn’t suffer because the adult who brought them into the world is tired and stressed.

It’s a perfect storm, both parents having to work to pay bills so very time poor and an explosion of different screen options to distract with vague claims of the damage it’s doing. That said it would be interesting to see stats on whether these parents are working full time, if not why aren’t children read to/engaged with?

This also seems to be happening alongside children not toilet trained, unable to use cutlery, put their coats on and brush their teeth. Again are these parents working full time, are these things being seen in children from specific groups?

Lastly I think we have moved rapidly to a situation where many see these things as schools responsibility or someone else’s responsibility. There seems to be no shame in your child arriving at school not being able to do these things (Sen excluded obvs). We’ve moved too far away from personal responsibility.

That’s not really true though is it? If a nursery, childminder or nanny are reading with the child then the outcome is the same isn’t it? There is no lack of basic care.

but for posters on the thread that isn’t good enough, as reading is something that must be done every night for routine and bonding, not for reading.

I agree with this sentiment. After several chaotic years and serious life issues, I’ve had to pay catch-up with my second child in particular. Everything had to be crammed at 4 before starting school. There must be other parents like me who feel massive pressure to participate in education but struggle for whatever reason or circumstances.

There will also be parents who don’t take any interest or value education, but I’m a bit tired of everyone being lumped together.

I'm really surprised by this. Are you sure you are remembering correctly?!
Some of the Enid blyton picture books were published in the 40s, the hungry caterpillar in the 60s. Parents have been reading to their children for a long time.
My parents read to me as did my grandparents to my parents. . I also have many teachers in my family and and I don't think there would be a single child born in the last three generations that wasn't read to regularly. I just can't imagine a family of teachers not seeing the value in sharing stories with their children.

I can remember having a range of books and sitting down eagerly to read with ds circa 15-18 months (when he started to have a mind of his own in other words) and he shoved my arm away!

Eventually chose a book with a tractor on the front and then refused to let me turn the page because there was a tractor on the first page and not the second

DD is a similar trajectory. For a while she just used to enjoy pulling books out and putting them back. Sometimes if I suggest reading she refuses. She absolutely will not read a book she doesn’t want to. Reading often isn’t something you can ‘just do’, especially with toddlers, it has to be built up and part of life (which is why I’m not a fan of the ‘bedtime story’ - keeping books solely for the part of the day parent and child are most tired and stressed doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t mean don’t read with them then but it shouldn’t be the only time you read, if that makes sense.)

It’s a bit like the potty training thing on here. For whatever reason some posters delight in believing that the country has gone to the dogs and it is filled with lazy parents who can’t be bothered to read or potty train their child and it isn’t that, or mostly isn’t that. It’s more to do with how that environment is created.

Now I’m going to see if my two year old wants to read Mog and the Baby for the 10000th time …

@3WildOnes born in 1986, my siblings were born in 1979. Nobody ever read to us.

We never had class stories either!

(I broke the cycle and read to my children who now love reading!)

Throughout time lots of parents haven’t read to their children. My husband’s family didn’t and don’t own any books. Brought up their kids in the late 70s and early 80s, him a chemical engineer and her a SAHM. They still don’t have any books in their 80s

I tried reading Enid Blyton to my DC and didn't think they were very good. Nor did they.

I tried donating our entire Enid Blyton collection (I had the entire collection, brand new!) to the primary school and they said "no thank you, we don't like those"

Much better stories out there these days, thankfully!

I was obsessed with Enid blyton as a child, I read them constantly, over and over for about 3 years. When I tried to read them to my children I was also surprised at how bad they were, and they didn’t hook my children either. Presumably a lack of sophistication in those days vs what we consume now?

If there's a generation of parents who cba to read to their kid, do we need to look at the generation that raised them to find the reason?

I'm surprised you didn't have class stories, I was born in 81 and it was definitely a thing all through primary school. The last book we were read was Boy by Roahl Dahl. Eldest still gets read to too in year 6 but the were a "love to read" school.
Every Xmas the kids Christmas present is a book. Attendance award last year was books. Prizes for dress up days is books. Occasionally they have an overflow of extra books and they're laid out and the kids can take one. The library van also visits a few times a term and if you aren't a member, the reception Class teacher will persist with her registration form until your child is!

This is so sad. I have a 6 and 3 year old and we read multiple times a day. I don’t understand why people wouldn’t. We get books from charity shops as sadly our library is hardly ever open!

Roahl Dahl has stood the test of time though. Amazing storytelling (even if he turned out to be a bit personally problematic)

This is zero to do with cost of living, poverty or any of that and everything to do with people having children then can't be arsed to bring them up properly. Same as those that let their kids get fat, can't use a knife and fork or do their teeth. They seem to have forgotten that it is the school's job to teach and none of the other stuff.

Unfortunately it’s the phone. Attention spans have declined rapidly - if an adult can’t focus on something for more than two minutes they’re hardly likely to be able to turn the pages of a simple picture book slowly with a toddler, let alone be patient enough to read a whole book.

For some years I ran the primary school library. I’ll always remember the child who refused to choose a book when each class came in to change their books once a week. She said that her mum said books were messy and untidy.

So we have the generational can’t-be-arsed parents, glued to phones, together with the minimalist tidy freaks who think books equal clutter and iPads/phones/television is neater .

Sorry but this sums up the 90s for me! Again!

It isn't a new problem, it's just we have new fangled tech and data. Can't imagine the BBC or any newspaper giving two shits about whether children were neglected or not in the 90s.

It's awful either way. But certainly isn't "new"

This is a slightly separate point, but secondary schools should do more to encourage reading too. In primary, you have reading time and a designated reading book. You use the library.

It all falls away for teens, you only read in English and then it’s not really enjoyable or how you read a book (taking turns reading passages). It needs to be consistent, with phones and everything, to maintain that reading books is a legitimate pass time. It’s not something for small children.

It's not one size fits all, and there will of course be a vast range of issues, but I don't believe this level of decline is just down to struggling parents working 3 jobs, it's surely more people than that. Harry from Traitors proudly said on TV that he "never reads", some kids scream about Tech/ TV and parents can't be bothered with that battle every day.

Anecdotal, but I know a number of parents who take their kids to multiple organised sports each week (chasing academy places) but don't prioritise their child reading daily. This is older than Reception though.

It isn’t new. In the 80s I was at school with children who were dirty. I mean, physically grubby. Dirty finger nails, smeared faces, matted hair. This was in a Suburb of Cambridge, it was common everywhere not just poor areas

those parents didn’t bathe their children often.

Maybe they were using that time to read to them, As posters have suggested one would trade off evening tasks, but they certainly felt the criticism from gossipy parents, the school and general public , for the lack of washing. The criticism that’s moved to things like potty training and reading today.

No. They don't "only read in English". Reading is acknowledged as key. Students read in every lesson, for information, for instructions and to interpret and explain. Every lesson has reading skills built in. Students are supposed to read out loud, even only a paragraph. They have designated reading times. It's front and centre.