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?

How did libraries manage to stay open years ago? They didn’t have free tea and coffee and run community events when I was a kid.

They didn’t even have story time.
They just had books 🤷🏻‍♀️. That’s kind of all you expected to find at the library.

How many parents just don’t care?

It is more than that, it’s different cultures almost. I don’t mean in the sense of different ethnic groups, more that if you don’t read, why would you see reading as a priority?

My parents sent me to church and were dismayed and shocked other parents didn’t. But if you don’t believe in God, you won’t pursue a religion. Reading has a similar sort of power here where if you value it you will see it is important but if you don’t, you won’t. It doesn’t mean you don’t care.

I read to my children a lot when they were toddlers and young children … it’s great for engagement and language learning etc… but now they are young teens it’s v hard to get them to read, especially my DS. Yes screens play a big part. But I also think our education system does not encourage reading for pleasure. The levelled reading books many kids are made to read in foundation and years 1-3 are truly awful. They bore the kids silly and then wonder why they don’t like books / reading. And all many schools care about (are made to care about) is the data from Sats and the very dull reading comprehensions they have to do. No wonder kids are put off.

We lived overseas for a few years and there were no reading ‘levels’, kids basically read whatever interested them, and the books aimed at kindergarteners were actually really funny, my DD loved them. And my DS entered an annual team reading competition at school and read a huge variety of books as a result. Back in the UK he’s top set English even though he doesn’t do a whole lot of reading anymore but he did have a pretty good foundation.

When parents are not even toilet training their children, nor teaching them to brush their teeth, use a knife and fork or even teach them the art of conversation (really poor communication skills among 4 and 5 year olds), how can we expect reading to happen at home?

These are things I have seen happening in schools (I'm a supply teacher):

1. Reading records collected in daily and those that haven't read the night before, or cannot prove they have because no reading record, get a phone call home.
2. As above, but lunchtime reading detentions issued with children having to be supervised for 15 minutes reading.
3. Parents in to read every Friday morning: parents encouraged to come into the classrooms for the first half hour of the day to read with the children in small groups. Parents then get free coffee and croissants or tea and biscuits.
4. Timetable rejigged so that every child in reception and year 1 reads with an adult in a small group every day (exec head, learning mentor and all the TAs pulled in to do this).
5. Extended lunchtime for children in reception and year 1 to allow time for every child to read to an adult on a one to one basis two or three times a week.

Clearly 4 and 5 are the most effective because they are teacher-led, whilst one and two are open to parents signing that reading has taken place when it has not. Ultimately, it comes down to schools because parents either cannot or won't make time for reading at home.

I would say a fair amount of the ones whose DC have low literacy levels aren't bothered. I see this in work, they might queue the whole night on the street for the release of a new video game or football strip, but homework, extra curriculars and reading time doesn't make the cut. Money isn't the issue here, it's priorities. They'll claim it's because they are low income and "our DC don't have any chance in life" but they spend their money/time in other places. There are families who make fun of the DC if they like school, reading, arts and crafts. Not all parents are of MN standard.

its a symptom of wider problems that are compounding each other.
Money can be thrown at getting children to read in schools but the cost of living crisis, socioeconomic disparity, lack of social mobility, mental health crisis and outdated curriculum remain.
something like 10% of children don’t have a book at home- this is heartbreakingly sad that the children who would benefit most from more chances to engage in learning are being held back from the very start.

its easy to blame lazy parents or screens but its not that simple and in most cases not even relevant.
Screens have a place- the children now will need to be technology literate to succeed in life. I’m not saying sit them infront of brainrot or fortnight but we all need to be able to use tech.

Many schools and parents aren't teaching kids how to use tech. They're not taught how to save and retrieve a document on an ipad, they're taught how to click on an app.

Besides, they're not mutually exclusive and most kids on tech devices aren't on it for learning or to facilitate learning. They're gaming and watching YouTube.

Very true. Our Year 7s all get laptops and many of them are pretty clueless at first.

It's just such a poor argument though. I'm an 80s child. I didn't have a mobile until I was in my 20s and it was a Nokia. I didn't have internet at home until I was 16yrs. My school didn't have computers at all. All my essays, exams and coursework were written in pen - had to be fountain pen as well. I went off to Uni with only the very basic knowledge of computers.

I'm in my 40s now and jumping on the same AI training courses that the newly recruited graduates are having to jump on. I'm doing my powerpoint slides, pivoting my excel tables and using my phone to do a supermarket shop. I'm as technologically literate as the kids coming through. They are not better or worse than anyone else in the office with age ranges of 18yrs to 65yrs. We do not need to give 7yrs olds devices and computers out of fear that if we don't they'll somehow become a 20yr old entering a job market unable to send an email. Screens do not have a place in primary education whatsoever. Secondary school - there's an argument for computers but first you need to lay the foundations for a brain that are equipped to cope with them.

I completely agree with you. I felt very strongly that it was my job to ensure my daughter was able to read when she started school, and was one of three children in her Reception class who was reading fluently when she started. I was a volunteer reader for several years when my daughter was at infant and junior school and I was very shocked by how little some parents had prepared their children for school. I still remember trying to help a girl understand what colours were and what ‘green’ meant.

I don’t think you can underestimate the impact of a focus on STEM at the expense of the humanities. Agree with a previous poster that reading is the gateway to all other subjects.

See posts like this really do bother me. I’m not trying to be personal there, but they do. They are a) seeped in judgement and b) really just a big stealth boast about what a good parent you are and what a fabulous job you did.

My DS is five, can tell you all the planets in order of their distance from the sun, can tell you what an ellipsis, exclamation mark and question mark are, knows the meaning of words like dimorphic camouflage and oppressed but doesn’t know the days of the week or months of the year. It isn’t because I haven’t tried to teach him but because learning isn’t even, kids sometimes do just pick up on things and other times don’t. To be honest, I don’t remember ever actually teaching my DD colours but she’s picked it up from somewhere.

No one is going to engage with support if they feel sneered at or judged and I wouldn’t blame parents for not wanting to touch support that looks like that. I wouldn’t either.

Children don’t need to start school able to read, that will be taught at school and ideally supported by parents spending time to read the school books with them while they are learning.

What is important for pre schoolers (and beyond) is being exposed to books, being read to and generally understanding how books work.

I was brought up by avid readers and we were read to until we could read ourselves. There was not much else to do!
My children were read to from very very young and when we went anywhere they had books, sticker books and colouring books.
different times.
I’m amazed by how few children now appear to have books with them any where out, travelling or in restaurants.
I know a practice nurse who finds it so hard to vaccinate babies because the mothers always have to have one hand holding their phone to distract the child. She wants the parent to hold their phone babies with two hands but they just never leave the child undistracted.
my daughter was a voracious reader until her smart phone took over. She still reads but nothing like as voraciously.

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.

I disagree with this - libraries are very important - not everyone can afford to keep buying books! Even charity shop books can be too pricey and the range not as good. My teen finds recommendations online and then checks the local libraries for availability and rides his bike to one at least once a week to borrow or return a book.

To be fair, it was around that age when I was a child because I remember my dad (teacher) telling me and being shocked. I’m late 40s now.

The killer of reading is screens. Immediate gratification and loads of trashy videos and addictive games. I try very hard to limit screens but my DCs’ father doesn’t and actually encourages them to be on them all day. It makes it hard. I also think there’s a sex-based thing to it: boys are less likely to read for pleasure and more likely to play video games and get obsessed with screens.

I have an enormous quantity of books, but I often go to homes with no books on display at all, or just a small number. Nothing inviting, nothing to spark the curiosity.

In my dreams, they use an iris scan to switch off children’s screens after a certain time. I blame screens as much as the parents.

Not everyone can afford to keep buying books but I suppose the point is that you don’t have to visit the library. I’ve always found it stressful; my children are too young to browse the books themselves so I have to look through to find suitable books which means taking my eyes off them 👀 Personally, I’d rather choose suitable books online.

@Revoltingpheasantsits not a stealth boast at all - I just assumed that all children could read when they started school. As far as I can remember, all the children in my class could read when I started school in the 1960s and I thought it was what most parents did. My daughter went to nursery for two afternoons a week for six months before she started school, and I was told by the staff when she started that she was behind the other children of her age in reading because she could only read a few words. I hadn’t started to teach her to read seriously at that point, but it spurred me on to start and make sure she was fluent by the time she started reception. And yes, I will judge a parent who hadn’t taught their child the most basic of basics such as colours, especially in this case when the girl’s mother didnt work. The girl concerned didnt have special needs and was extremely able. Once she got into school and had teachers and TAs who cared about her she really thrived and was one of the highest achieving children in the year at the end of Key Stage 1.

@Burntt I agree with you - and with bringing back Sure Start or an equivalent.

Why would you assume that?

The children who are reading when they start school are in the minority. I didn’t teach my son to read; to be honest, I trusted and indeed trust his reception teacher - she knows what she is doing. I obviously support and supplement myself at home but I’m not an EYFS teacher or a phonics expert and I found a lot of it confusing and wouldn’t have wanted to confuse DS.

You are still judging parents. Do you actually think your finger wagging helps anybody?

How are you suggesting people read books if the dont buy them or get them from a library though?

'Is that borne out' just means 'is that proven'.

I'm asking you to cite evidence.

Attention span may have deteriorated (I'm not sure), but I was actually asking about literacy.

I'm not super convinced by the OP's claims about literacy - especially the suggestion that reading for enjoyment is at 'an all time low'.

Could you support any of that?

Digital literacy is another issue, and no, it wasn't me who brought that up.

But that's a spectator article.

IME, part of education ought to include being aware of how assess the bias of sources, not just how to read each word. I actually think this is something students have got better at doing over recent years.

I'm also from a non reading family. But no value was placed on education either. I was the black sheep of the family and read as means of escape. Some of my siblings really struggled at school, in part due to poor literacy skills. I don't think people realise what a vital skill it is. If you can't read then you can't access the curriculum and you're doomed to failure across the board in education.

It is from the survey discussed here.

https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/children-and-young-peoples-reading-in-2025/