Parent's Choice
By Staff -- Playthings, 8/1/2006
The amount of time per day that kids—especially boys—spend reading for fun declines sharply after the age of 8, according to a new national survey released this summer by consumer trends tracker Yankelovich and Scholastic. “The Kids and Family Reading Report,” which surveyed children ages 5-17 and their parents, also found that, while 40 percent of kids aged 5-8 are high frequency readers (reading for fun every day), only 29 percent of kids 9-11 fit that description.
Parents are a key factor in kids' reading attitudes and behaviors, the study found; by reading more often themselves and helping kids locate books they like, parents can boost their kids' interest in reading.
“Parents excel when it comes to introducing their very young children to beautiful picture books and bedtime stories, but when their kids start reading independently, parents need to become more, not less, involved,” says Lisa Holton, president, Scholastic Book Fairs and trade publishing. “[Parents] must play a key role in helping their older children select books that capture their imagination and interest.”
Kids' top reason for not reading more? They cannot find books they want to read. The survey also found that boys are less likely than girls to have positive attitudes about reading, with three times as many boys responding that reading for fun is “not at all” important, and fewer boys responding they enjoy reading for fun or do so regularly.
