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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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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:

suebfg · 08/12/2011 20:49

YANBU - I'm really shocked by that. I pick up tons of books for DS from the library (nearly always take home the maximum we can) plus I'm always in the charity shop picking up bargains. His bedroom is like a library.

Mind you, I often overhear parents in the library telling their children to get one book only. Can't quite understand that - our DS goes through at least 3 books each bedtime (he's 4).

Dustinthewind · 08/12/2011 20:55

I'm not shocked, although it will be interesting to see how many of MN post here to say how many books their own child has as if that is relevant.
There are an enormous number of households in this country that neither own or borrow books, or see the value in them.
Many prefer online, tv or other sources of entertainment, others come from backgrounds that don't value reading for pleasure.

BrianButterfield · 08/12/2011 21:28

Every library I've been in recently, including school libraries, has contained neither hide nor hair of dog-eared 80s books. I go and get an armful of brand new board books for 4mo DS every week, which is brilliant because I don't want to pay £5 a pop for them! The adult book catalogue is up-to-date too.

TartyMcFalalalalalalalalarty · 08/12/2011 21:42

YABU to be shocked. Are you really surprised that many, many people don't value literature? My brother has never read a book out of choice. Reading was a challenge for him at school and he's never seen it as a pastime. There are many, many parents who would feel the same.

My children and those of my brother are likely to have a more positive attitude to reading because I love literature and DB's P is a childcare worker.

MrsTerryPratchett · 08/12/2011 21:56

I work with a lot of young families and my tiny and unrepresentative sample suggests that bookshelves are now used for games and DVDs solely and completely. I never see a book on a bookshelf.

DD has a librarian, a teacher and a children's book seller for relations. Guess what she got for her birthday.

Graciescotland · 08/12/2011 22:03

I find it really depressing that some children don't have books. DS is only 15 mo and he already has a little book collection which he loves. He brings books over one by one to be read.

I think a love of books is a great thing for a child to have and it needn't cost a lot, if you get library books or buy from charity shops. It's just :(

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 08/12/2011 22:15

This was one of the statistics that came out in the Evening Standard's "Get London Reading" campaign
www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/get-london-reading/

They mentioned a story of a boy asked to bring a book from home who came in with the Argos catalogue.

We have shelves full of books and I find it strange that people can live without them.

shagmundfreud · 08/12/2011 22:52

They could have some of mine.

I'm blardy sick of them cluttering up the house. All the lovely big glossy copies of the classics, fairy tales from all cultures, Beatrix Potter etc. Especially now that all my children want to read are WWF and Simpsons annuals.

Tiggles · 08/12/2011 22:58

As my son has got older he has less and less books - don't get me wrong he still has some (mainly reference ones), but we get more and more from the library as he wants to read them only once. The survey states that children have to 'own a book' so library books wouldn't count.

StandingAlone · 08/12/2011 23:01

We have several book cases/shelves/floor space dedicated to books for DH and myself and for the DD's. DH persuaded me to have a 'cull' of the books last weekend so we could actually fit them all on a shelf/bookcase. We ended up freecycling 3 massive boxes full of various books,and still have floor space taken up with piles of books.

I want to buy more now The DD's love to look at books, DD2 cant read yet as she is only 2, DD1, who is 4, reads at a basic level. DD1 reads to DD2 I love bedtime story time as it is such a peaceful time of the day with the DD's. No shouting or arguing etc just nice quiet kids listening to the story.

MayaAngelCool · 08/12/2011 23:09

Wow, that survey is surprising. We have a small library of about half a million kids' books, both bought and borrowed, and have always read loads to DS, who adores stories and reads several years above his age. I always assumed that the majority of families did the same.

Maybe that's why DS is so good at reading? He's no genius, and hasn't been hothoused; he's just a kid who likes stories. But I guess that kids who are read to lots are more likely to be drawn to reading. I dunno, this is just my unscientific cod theory.

Very sad about our literacy rates, though.

EcoLady · 08/12/2011 23:13

As a trainee teacher I too have been shocked to realise just how many children are not read to at all at home. It IS a genuine problem. I totally believe the new stats that it's risen from 1in 10 to 1 in 3.

The National Literacy Trust have a campaign to raise money for their work to promote reading & provide books - you can buy fab cards here

Wrigglebum · 08/12/2011 23:16

It made me so sad when I heard this, like many others DS has loads of books. He knows loads of them off by heart now we read them so much, so no chance of me skipping out bits to save time!

Even if a lot of these children were given books I suspect they might not be able to get someone to read with them. Some people just don't 'do' books, I've got plenty of intelligent, educated friends who don't read books.

manicinsomniac · 08/12/2011 23:37

I'm not surprised that there are some children without books but quite surprised that the number is so high.

Also find it funny how many people have rushed on to say that their child has hundreds of books/their own bookcase/adores reading. I don't think that's quite the point. The chances of there being a single MN parent who DOESN'T buy books for their child is, I would have thought, pretty slim.

lurkerspeaks · 09/12/2011 00:03

My brother has noticed that his friends don't give their kids many books and not many of them are well versed in sitting down and being read to. His god daughter (who is 2.5) only really has the books he has bought her.

My friends kids on the other hand tend to be drowning in books and I don't buy them as presents any more for fear of duplication. I tend to give low value (eg. £5) book tokens or amazon vouchers instead so the kids can choose their own book.

My friends are generally slightly more affluent than his but neither group would be classed as deprived by any stretch of the imagination.

PotPourri · 09/12/2011 00:15

I think it is true and am actually stunned that people don't realise this. we have books coming out of our ears in my house, but most people I know only have a small number or even none. DH's friend has never read a book in his life - serious! And his kids were raving a few years ago about the new Harry Potter film coming out as they were desperate to find out what happens next (erm, read the book and find out - just didn't occur).

Personally I love them and have no idea why most people I know don't. But it's a fact, it is not the norm to have a lot of books.

MayaAngelCool · 09/12/2011 00:24

To correct my earlier post, like manic, my surprise was at the size of the problem. 4 million is HUGE.

duchesse · 09/12/2011 00:25

Our house has books in every room including the loos and up the stairs. One of the first things I notice in other people's houses is a lack of books. Most people seem to find them more of a dust-catching irritation than a lifelong learning and growing habit. I find their mindset tends to reflect this.

duchesse · 09/12/2011 00:30

Should also add that my perfectly average 2.3 yo does "pretend reading", parroting her stories and retelling them in her own words based on the pictures, and follows the words with her finger. She pointed out the "NO BUSKING" sign in Tabby McTatt yesterday. It's a question of familiarity, not incipient genius. I feel sorry for children arriving in school without that familiarity- they are behind from the start.

ShengdanRoad · 09/12/2011 00:31

Maybe some people are too busy trying to make ends meet to worry about stocking their shelves with whimsical fairy stories.

I'm the first one to champion reading and books, but why OUGHT we all read? Surely it's not compulsory.

ShengdanRoad · 09/12/2011 00:32

And I'm not sure I like the stealth superiority on here: "I have twenty million books in every nook and cranny of my home, so I'm naturally better than those poor scrubbers with nary two pages of the Sun to rub together".

duchesse · 09/12/2011 00:33

Because the second you begin school and proceed into life, Shengdan, it is bloody mandatory to be able to read and write adequately! To state otherwise is defeatist nonsense and condemns people to a lower standard of life than they ought to have.

duchesse · 09/12/2011 00:35

All a lack of books translates into for me is a paucity of aspiration. It is certainly not limited to poorer homes! Many an expensive "show-home" has not a single evident book.

PotPourri · 09/12/2011 00:57

Lack of books is nothing to do with affluence. From what I see anyway. I honestly don't know a soul who has more than a few books on show in their house (except myself and all of the people on this thread) - and I mix with all walks of life.

I actually think alot of people see books as old fashioned these days. It's all about the internet and kindle and all that...

CardyMow · 09/12/2011 01:08

Each of my dc own more books than can fit on their bookshelves. I am poor as shit - but my dc LOVE reading except DD but I keep trying. I get a lot from the book people online because it's cheap. That and the fact that it costs me £10 to get all the dc to the nearest library by bus each time - it's cheaper to do a book order once every 3 months.

Plus my Ex got me a Kindle for Christmas last year before he fucked off, and the dc like to choose a book on there each month when I get the child benefit.

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