How would you solve the growing reading crisis?

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My toddler is napping and I've ended up watching Vanessa. They have had a segment about who should be teaching children to read. They glanced over multiple issues and didn't state which studies they were talking about. But it got me thinking about the what the solution actually is.

Rates of older children reading for enjoyment is at an all time low. Similar story with the number of parents who are reading regularly to their younger children. Children are starting school not know how to turn pages of books. Screen time is often cited as the problem and there are studies showing the amount of screen time children are receiving can be associated to socioeconomic status.

So how would you try and fix this? Or do we just accept it?

I don’t believe that for a nanosecond. If you starve a library of funds, it will have no new books, no summer reading program, no budget to put on events for the community, no budget to pay for storytelling time, no budget to have free tea and coffee for a community hub. So of course footfall will decrease.

Then you close it citing reduced footfall- which you created.

I find that a lot of adults who complain about children not reading do not themselves read. Some used to but have stopped. Intelligent people with varied interests but haven’t picked a book up in a decade.

Modeling reading is at the core of the issue. Then introducing kids to books that they find interesting. So instead of Shakespeare and of Mice and Men and Victorian plays try Scott Westerfield’s UGLIES or On The Road, The Girl with All the Gifts or Babel!

reading to your baby or toddler is no guarantee they will read as a tween or teen

Frankly, I think it's scaremongering nonsense.

Rates of older children reading for enjoyment is at an all time low ... really?! This sounds like a total disaster story but the reality is that children have only had universal access to formal education for a relatively short period. Even very recently, many children who had the capacity to learn to read were shunted off into 'special' schools with very little expected of them (look, for example, at David Blunkett's accounts of his education. He's perfectly intellectually capable, but was written off because he is blind).

Likewise, I wonder whether parents are really reading less to their children, or whether it's simply that people have become more bothered about 1) who they survey and 2) how they respond to surveys.

I do think there are issues with screens, and with parents being extremely time-poor (though this is something that has often been the case for working-class parents, and there is an element of it coming as a shock only because it is now also an issue for naice middle-class parents too).

But I think some of it is about pearl-clutching.

Yes, I think phones have become a distraction and a shorter attention span.

Every child should be read to every day from birth. Part of the routine, before they even know what a book is. It's as important as bath time and tummy time and playtime.

Exactly. Spending five minutes on facebook tells you this. It's honestly terrifying. I don't know how some people cope day to day without being taken huge advantage of.

Getting a weekly newspaper is a good idea too.

I'd hold drop-in clinics for health visitors, and promo days for nurseries, ASCs and holiday clubs at the Town library. Easter egghunts,Christmas card making sessions etc.

I'd issue every child in reception classes with a local library card.

Run job-search sessions for mums, and benefits advice sessions in the library. Local MP clinics there too.

Use that space for every activity so dcs have as many chances as possible to access books. Most libraries have a meeting room available.

All Borough councils and equivalents have a legal duty to provide free lending libraries.

Branch libraries closed or were taken over by volunteers, but every major town still has a free library.

Ive noticed this about books too. So dumbed down they're barely more than big comics.

As everybody else has said, make reading part of your daily routine. And work on comprehension: get your child to recap what happened previously, talk about the characters, what does your child predict will happen next. Look at punctuation. How should I alter my tone if I spot an exclamation or question mark, or italics?

Talk about your favourite childhood books. Why did you love them so much?

Varied, quality reading will increase vocabulary and spelling abilities too.

I just marked 30 GAPS papers and 2 of them scored 0 out of 20 for spelling. Those are the same children who never bring in their reading record and have no books at home.

We were issued with a library card when registering our child's birth. Maybe this is too chaotic of a time and slightly later would be better? Our local libraries also have a preschool reading challenge where if you borrow 1000 books before turning 6 you receive a golden library card. I agree using libraries as a community hubs is a great idea. Ours has lots of groups on but I feel they're only attended by the families who would use the library any way.

As a very competitive child I would definitely have needed to earn the golden card! Though I didn’t really need external motivation to read anyway and used to borrow the maximum weekly) or more often in the holidays.

They are adding trigger warnings to classic literature at university so yes, I think our days of reading and critical thinking are slowly coming to an end unfortunately.

It's not just children. Reading for enjoyment has dropped amongst adults as well. As a population we're less likely now to engage with tasks that require sustained focus and attention, that can be hard or without immediate pay off. Phone us has a lot to answer for

Oh, FGS.

People put content warnings on literature, sure.

Please tell me how and why this stops reading or critical thinking?

So you have a class and you tell them Titus Andronicus features graphic depictions of rape and violence; it's a play that's routinely had people fainting in the audience for centuries. You think the people who used to faint are somehow stronger readers and critical thinkers than the students who got a note saying 'contains depictions of sexual violence'?

I grew up without books. Nobody has ever read me a bedtime story. It affected my whole life and even now (40) find it hard to sit down and read. Although I am trying & I'm managing a book per month. Last month I had such a good book I read it in 4 days!

Anyway, when I had my baby I was also poor. But every time I went near a charity shop I bought a book for him. 10 years ago they were approx 20-50p from the likes of Oxfam. We went in there last weekend and each book was at least £1.99 no matter how tatty or how many dried bogies were crusted onto the front.

Libraries are great but don't often have Alex Rider, Percy Jackson and the Wimpy Kids.

Our book collection is pretty cool and I'm proud to say I have an avid reader and I've broken the cycle

I also chose my child's ISA account because they send a £25 book voucher every 6 months. It's been absolutely amazing!

I’ve dropped the ball on this and am trying to catch up.

I think magazines are good - eg on football, etc - bite-sized nuggets of information and you don’t need to hold it open do you can read it while eating breakfast.

Reading to children and babies every day.
Pointing out signs and information when you’re out and about.
Ensuring that children know the right way to hold a book and how to turn the pages.
Libraries.
Magazines and comics are better than nothing, but not as good as books.

@Dunderheided I'm not sure on the actual data but we have a few thick DK non fiction books that have been read so much the spine needed gluing several times!

I read to mine every night. Because nobody ever read to me. I think I found it healing in a way!

Hmm I disagree with a few posts here actually.

1. Books are not just for bed. In fact, most toddlers in particular are better able to focus on books in the morning. Books should be part of life. I have a selection next to my bed to read with the children when they come in for morning cuddles. We read at meal times and they have books in the car. We read loads, but I only rarely read a bedtime story to my toddler.

2.We don’t go to the library. I actually did this morning with my toddler just before a dentist appointment. No books were read. Yes, you can take them out but it’s actually better to find them online for recommendations.

3.Look beyond the ‘classics.’ There are some great Julia Donaldson and Judith Kerr books. There are also some absolutely brilliant books that are never mentioned because no one has heard of them. Follow waterstoneskids and fatherteacher_reader on instagram for inspiration.

What ISA is this please?! Pregnant and would like to do this!

I’m a lecturer and this year my first year class (18ish age, some a bit older) are all avid readers - I am the only one in the class who reads on Kindle, and they frequently come in from lunch with Waterstones bags having bought new books. It honestly makes me so happy! Three students in the class are actually doing their big year project around books.

More funding for early education. Better access.

I just found out I don’t qualify for the working parent entitlement for early years education/childcare because I’m a single parent carer. Carers children qualify if the other parent is working but for those of us abandoned by the men who don’t want to care for a disabled child and who have no choice but to give up/reduce work to meet caring responsibility our children suffer. I’m not working full time because the LA won’t provide an education for my disabled child as no schools can meet need. This child is very high need and requires most of my attention. Yet my toddler who cannot get as much attention as he deserves is denied the early education other children get.

it’s all well and good saying reduce screens, take him to the library and read books at bedtime. But what is he supposed to do to keep him safe and occupied while I’m dealing with violent meltdowns or washing his brother who has soiled himself. How do I take him to the library when I cannot leave the house safely with my high need son? How do I read to him at bedtime when taking my attention from my high need child is literally dangerous?

for that matter my disabled child deserves a fucking education too.

support for parents so we are not so burnt out and drowning would mean more energy for our children. There is research that shows giving support to mothers benefits the children whereas giving financial support to households tends not to (because men more often use the money for themselves where women put it into the family ie the children).

smaller class sizes and smaller ratio in early years would go a long way

I was reading a book at my younger son's pickup time at school and three very young teens said with incredulity "you like reading books?". It took a day to sink in that they thought reading books was unusual and old fashioned.