40% of Brits read just ONE book per year. But is it harming the next generation of readers?
With kids around the country set to go back to school this week, a new study from The Works has discovered that parents who read more frequently themselves are much more likely to read to their children from a young age, effectively giving them a better start when it comes to walking through those school gates for the very first time.
The study found that 84% of parents who read at least six books per year introduce reading to their children from under the age of two, compared to the overall average of 71%, while only 4% in total don’t start reading to their children until after they’ve already started school.
That is contrast to adults own memories of reading, where more 39% didn’t remember reading or being read to until they started primary school, while just over 10% didn’t remember reading a book until they hit secondary school. Although we do, of course, have to factor in time, age and memory here.
Key findings:
39% of adults in Britain read fewer than two books per year
Around one in six adults don’t read books at all
35% of the population are reading at least one book every two months
60% of those read to their own children from birth
As children around the country lace back up their school shoes, a new study has revealed that Brits aren’t the fondest of readers, with almost 40% of the country reading fewer than two books per year.
The study, in which leading bookseller The Works surveyed the nation, looked to analyse the trends between a parent’s relationship with books and what impact it has on their own children.
Of the 39% of adults that no longer read books, 16% of the total study had given up on books completely, but thankfully the vast majority of those are still introducing reading to their children from a young age, with only 16% having yet to start reading to their child or leaving it until they were over the age of three.
Across the nation, parents are largely reading to their children from a young age, with it having a significant impact on children once they reach school and start learning. A total of 44% of children are being read to from birth, with a further 27% of parents starting to read to their children before the age of two.
Lisa Lort-Johnson, Head of Buying at The Works, said, “Reading supports a child’s early years from an education perspective, giving them the foundation to build on when starting school.”
“The reality is when you start to read a good book it’s pure escapism that opens up a child’s imagination to experience a manner of different things, as well as developing the skillsets that reading provides.”
Parents that do read more frequently – a total of 35% of the population read more than six books per year – are more likely to read to their child from birth with a total of 60% doing so from birth and a further 24% before the age of two, effectively giving their child a better start for when they do start learning once they hit that first day in school.
The study also explored what parents are most likely to read to their children, with The Gruffalo the big standout with one in eight children having the iconic Julia Donaldson title read to them as their very first book.
You can read the full study at: https://www.theworks.co.uk/theworks-blog/book-inspiration/the-first-book-we-remember.html
