Reading to Kids Is Becoming Obsolete
Who among Gen X remembers RIF — the major Reading Is Fundamental campaign? It clearly worked because the importance of reading is deeply ingrained in me. I also knew the importance of reading to my kids. But Gen Z didn't have RIF and they also had tangible books replaced by books online. I'm creating this generational divide to explain that this might be why Gen Z parents aren't reading to their kids as much as the generations before. We can't blame them ... exactly.
HarperCollins Publishers conducted a study, detailed in Parents, which revealed that Gen Z parents don't enjoy reading to their kids and instead they see it as something kids should learn in school.
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Only 41 percent of 0–4-year-olds are read to, compared to 64 percent in 2012.
Breaking the numbers down more, only 29 percent of 0–2-year-old boys are read to, compared to 44 percent of girls that age.
Jocelyn M Wood, SLP, PLLC, a child development expert declared this "the downfall of literacy in young children."
'[We will] begin to see children who lack language skills, critical thinking skills, and early literacy skills that come from book reading — not to mention the loss of bonding time with caregivers,' Wood added.
We really need RIF. And Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.
Why is this happening?
Related:
The research showed that many parents simply don't enjoy reading — Gen Z likes it less than Gen X.
Child psychology expert Matthew Danbrook, MA, feels we shouldn't put a lot of pressure on parents. The "why" some parents don't read their kids could have a lot behind it — fatigue, being overworked, the list goes on. We get it.
But I can't help but come back to our use of devices. So many of us read our news online instead of the newspaper. We read e-books instead of actual books. Bookstores are downsizing and going out of business. It's no wonder this is happening.
What we do know is not reading to kids is doing them a disservice with literacy and language. So we have to find the love. Perhaps by incorporating just one book a day could show how reading to our kids can be a relaxing practice. The rewards are too great to not try.
Up Next:Reading to Kids Is Becoming Obsolete first appeared on WeHaveKids on May 23, 2025
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