October 27, 2025 • 20 mins
Research has revealed that there is a decline in parents reading to their children. Join Cindy and Alison as they discuss why this might be happening and the impact of bringing reading with children back.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to how preschool teachers do it. I'm Cindy, I'm Alison,
and we have a combined fifty five years of experience
working with children, families, and experts in early education. We
are not random influence. No, we are not. Whether you
are new or have been our podcast Peep since twenty eighteen,
we are thrilled you found us. Hi Preschool, Peep, hi Pee,
(00:28):
welcome back. We want to welcome people from around the
world and the country too. And we're super excited about
today's I don't know if they'll understand to see why,
but I am super excited about today's shout outs.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Okay, so here they go, go ahea, Let's see if
you get excited. We are shouting out Bavaria in Germany.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
So that's cool. That is very cool. I don't think
we've shouted out Germany before, have we?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
I think we have, but not Bavaria. Okay, I think
like Berlin maybe.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Oh maybe.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
And this cool because we've never shouted them out before.
And as you could tell if you're watching the YouTube,
Cindy's very excited about it. We're shouting out Alaska.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
I am like we were like the two of us
were like Alaska. People are listening to Alaska, And then
I realized my cousin was recently there. Could have been her,
could have been her, but maybe it's not. Maybe somebody
else could have been, could have been while she was there.
My cousin's husband is from Alaska, and so I'm just thinking, like,
could be them. I don't know them, but I could. Friends.
If you're thinking, if you're in Alaska and you're thinking,
(01:31):
I'm not Cindy's cousin, then Hi, Hi, how are you
finding us? Thank you for finding us. I think one
of the reasons we're so excited about that is that
Alaska is like far from us because we're on the
East coast.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
That's the yeah, the furthest most point I think in
the United States, maybe Hawaii, but.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
I don't know because I am not good at geography.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
I I just know Alaska is very very very very
very close to like Russia, right Like there's only that
little itty bitty straight something in between the two.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
I feel like you can across when it's on They
are close.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Yeah, I feel like Russia's closer to Alaska than we
are in the United States.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
In the mainland, in the main mainland. Yeah, so I
think because they are the United States, but on the mainland,
you know, I think that what you need to do
if you're in Alaska and you are listening or watching
us on YouTube, you need to go and tell everybody,
but you also maybe get a megaphone and you all
over to Russia. I don't know if you can do that.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
I don't know if we've ever shouted out Russia.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I don't I don't know.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
I would have to look back in our records. We
do keep records, black records.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
I have a very extensive list of everybody we've shouted
out in the least in the modern times, because we
used to do shout outs a couple of years ago
and then stop. And if in the future we shout
out Russia, I'm going to I think it's because of
this moment right now. It is possible that they heard
that they were not shouted out and they wanted to
be and here we are.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
We are just super excited that people in Alaska found us. Yes,
I cool. Yes, I think it's very cool, just like
I think when they find us in every state, it's cool.
But it is super cool because it's really far from us. Okay.
So anyway, folks, we're not here to talk about things
that I didn't do well in school, like geography. We're
here to talk about a different topic that I did
do well in school, and that is reading. Yes, so
(03:19):
Allison came upon an article. It's actually written by a publisher,
isn't it, Harpercollin HarperCollins written by a publisher, which tells
me perhaps the publishing company was thinking about the popularity
of reading and reading among children, because I don't know,
(03:40):
maybe they have children's books and it's reflected in the
sales or something. You know why I think that. I'll
tell you why. I think it real quick. Because there
was research done about children in outdoor play because laundry
detergent companies were making less money because fewer children were
getting their clothes dirty dirty. Yes, yes, so that's what's
started the whole campaign about get children out in nature
(04:02):
to play. It was the detergent companies that is interesting.
It was called the Yeah, the campaign was called dirt
is Good for the children. In this case, we have
an article from a publishing company which tells me that
the slogan should be something like reading is good. Please
get them to read.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Right, because it doesn't really say what prompts the research,
just that it says new research reveals that parents are
losing the love of reading aloud, so they are reading
aloud less to their children, and they don't find it enjoyable,
(04:39):
and therefore the love of reading is not getting passed
down to the children.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
You know, when I think about the way the world
is now, with people working so hard, so many hours,
the prices of things, yes, because of the prices of things. Yeah,
when I think about the fact that, you know, people
are more often looking to turn off and numb their
(05:04):
brain then use it when they're not at work and
when they're not be having to think really hard, and
just the busyness of our lives. You know, children are overscheduled,
which means the adults are who are running them around
or overscheduled. Life's changed from what it has years ago,
when you might have had a family where only one
parent works, or you might have had a family that
(05:26):
just sort of had the emotional mental wherewithal to spend
a different kind of time with their children, which listen.
In today's chaotic and somewhat outrageous world, I understand that
people are more overwrought overwhelmed. I totally get it. The
fact remains that for some reason, today's parents of young
(05:49):
children are not finding pleasure in reading with their children,
when you know, not too long ago, we used to
sit and read with our children and storytell with our children.
And you know, somehow that's going by the wayside, according
to this research.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
It is according to this by significant amounts. So it
says fewer than half of parents of children up to
the age of thirteen say reading a lot of children
is fun.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
So there's a lot less than half find fun.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
It says parents who grew up with technology themselves are
significantly more likely to view reading as a subject to
learn rather than a fun or enriching activity.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
That's interesting. I wonder if, like they as children, if
there are people who struggled with reading, that's why they
think it's a subject to learn rather than something that
can be enjoyable. And perhaps just going to take a
guess that some of the things we were forced to
(06:51):
read in school that were not enjoyable should have been
rethought because we want people to know that reading is joyful. Yes,
And I don't know about you, but I was meant
to read some things or made to read some things
that were that made me think this is terrible.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Right, But I think in the past, like if we
were reading things at school that were not enjoyable to
read when we got home, our parents would read things
that were maybe enjoyable, right, So there was maybe this balance.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
They at least made a distinction, and it was a
thing when we would say we were reading for school
and reading for pleasure, reading for fun, reading for pleasure
was a thing. But there were also a lot of
I don't know if this still exists, it might, but
there were a lot of these, like summer reading incentives.
Like I remember when I was a child, the library
or when my children were young, especially the library hosted
(07:44):
summer reading competitions. Yes, you have, if you read a
certain amount of books, something would happen. My library does
this now for adults, do they? I'm in it for
an adult for adult for.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Adults really yeah, which is cool, Like you put in
the books that you read. It's like a Google form
and then they draw it like a raffle and in
the car.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
But I'm an adult. I I don't really need the
motivation to read.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I read constantly, but I think that's cool that they
do that, but I know what you mean, Like, remember
like there used to be like a pizza place that
would have and you would go, yes, and you would
turn I don't know, I don't remember how it worked.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
You turned in how many books you read, and then
you would get like free pizza. You get free pizza.
I remember that. And it was a national change, and
that's why we all know. Yeah, yeah, it was a
national change.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
And you're you would get like a thing and they
would hang it up in the restaurant and so you
can go.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
And be like, oh, there's my name, you know, like
it was cool. You're absolutely right. Yeah, I don't know
if that exists anymore anywhere. I don't know. I would
be so interested to know if these things still exist. Yeah,
I but even regardless, even aside from that, there was
a lot of information and in school they would even
say here's your school reading assignment, and you also need
to read something for pleasure. Yeah right, yeah, And I
(08:53):
don't know that they even say that anymore or do
that anymore.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Maybe maybe some of them do, but definitely, according to
these statistics in the article, families are not doing it
doing it? What else did you find in that article.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
More than one in five boys twenty two percent aged.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Zero to two are rarely.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Or never read to. Only twenty nine percent of boys
in this age group are read to daily compared to
forty four percent of girls, underscoring early disparities in exposure
to books.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
That is gender bias, right, Yes, I wonder why that is?
Why is the perception the bias that girls need to
be read to but boys don't because they're supposed to
be more physical, more physical. That's that's my guess. Is
that in twenty twenty five? Really? Right? But there that's
ridiculous in twenty twenty five, especially with what goes on now,
(09:50):
with the push for children to go to college. Correct,
we would we would still think that you don't need
to read with boys, right. I don't understand. I don't
understand that. I don't get it, don't get but think
about you know, when I think about books for children,
I've seen a lot of books based on girl products,
girl oriented products.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Okay, or girl oriented characters.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Yes, because I'm thinking of one in my head that's Yes,
lots of female oriented books, but not so much for boys.
Maybe there aren't enough of them for boys. I'm sure
they exist, yeah, but maybe there are just aren't enough
that would capture a boy's interest.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Right.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
It reminds me when we were young, we had certain
characters that would capture a boy, like we had the
Encyclopedia Brown books, yea, and even before that, and this
is like I think before my time, they had what
was the one It wasn't Nancy Drew. It was oh
my god, now I can't think of it, but it
(10:50):
was a boy detective thing. Yeah, not Nancy Drew was
the girl's version. The boy was something else. But there
were like these books with that we're the main character
was a boy like them sort of or someone they
could look up to.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Right, But isn't that it's so sad that boys are
not represented in books that.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Like, I mean there, I think they're represented in books,
but I don't know.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
I don't think they's no way that allows the boys
to relate to.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Them though maybe I don't know, maybe it's not relatable.
If anyone could think of what I'm talking about, not
Nancy Drew, the other one for boys, let me know
to you? Yeah, all right? To continue with this, it says.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
The crisis and boys reading for pleasure continues from infancy
to adolescence, as only twelve percent of twelve to thirteen
year old boys read for fun, A compelling news study
shows social book groups can give boys space to express emotions.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
You mean, like a boy a book club for the
boys only so that the boys can come together talk
about what they've write. Isn't it true that coble sharing
within the book think about not even adult book clubs.
When I think about who I know, who's it's women.
It's women. It's women in the book clubs mostly. Anyway,
I as.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
A patron of my library, I go to my library
like once or twice a week.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Wow, I read a lot. I read, but I'm not
in the library. I'm in the library a lot. And
I was just there yesterday.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
And almost I want to say, ninety percent of the
people that I see walking in there are women.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
That's interesting to.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
The point that when a man walks in and is
like next to me looking at the new books, I
was like, oh, that's nice, Like I notice it because it's.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Almost always women. That's so interesting.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
So even I think like this goes all the way
up to like adulthood, where men don't read about But
what's interesting is most A lot of the books I read,
not most, but a good majority of the authors that
I read are men.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
You know. Here's the bottom line, though, This has to
be instilled in early child. Yes, so the fact that
young boys are not being read too, that today's families
are like not five, reading with children pleasurable, right, we
need to think about why that is why. And we
(13:08):
can't just say, oh, it's because their generation is so
into technology. I don't think that that's a reason. I
think there's got to be a reason the way reading
was treated with them when they were young, right. I
don't think it's just starting now.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
It has to be something that yeah, maybe started in
the generation before them, Like maybe that generation didn't read
to them and now they're really not don't.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
I don't know. I'm not sure if it's even in
this article. I don't know, but I feel like there
has to be a more deep seated reason than you
own an iPad.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
This says. The new data also revealed that many parents
don't find enjoyment in reading to their children, with only
forty percent of parents saying it is fun. Parents face
increasing pressures, with thirty four percent of parents of zero
to thirteen year olds wishing they had more time to
read to their children. Since twenty twelve, there has also
(14:01):
been a sharp increase in the number of parents reporting
that children have too much schoolwork oh that read things
forty nine percent in twenty twenty four compared to twenty
five percent in twenty twelve.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
That's a twenty five percent jump. The homework has to
stop in twelve years. The homework has to be reduced
or stopped. So they're being given way too much homework
to have time to do what they need to do
to lay a foundation for their future, which is read.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Here's a quote by a woman named Alison David from
the consumer insight director at Farshore and HarperCollins. Children's books
being read to makes reading fun for children. So it's
very concerning that many children are growing up without a
happy reading culture at home.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
It means they are more likely.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
To associate books with schoolwork, something they are tested on
and can do well or badly at, not something they
would enjoy.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
The good news is when reached children.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Are read too frequently, they very quickly come to love
it and become motivated to read themselves. Children who are
read to daily are three times as likely to choose
to read independently compared to children who aren't only read
too weekly at home. It's never too late to start
or resume reading to your child.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
It is never too late, they say, so if you're first.
We have a lot of early childhood professionals who listen
to and watch this podcast. Yes, And we're not here
to shame families to make them feel bad. We're here
to recognize that they are facing particular challenges that preclude
them reading with their children. And one of the things
(15:40):
that we can do to make that possible for them
is thinking about what sort of things am I sending home?
And how much right? What am I sending home for.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Them to do?
Speaker 1 (15:49):
How much? What is their lives? What are their lives like? Yeah?
And is there any way that we can offer support
to these people so that their lives can be eased
a little bit and they will have the time and
wherewithal to read with their children.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Right?
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Yes, there are also people raising children listening to us.
Whether you're an early child's a professional or not, there
are people raising children. So if you're listening to this
and you're thinking, you know, they're right, I have not
enjoyed reading them with my child. I don't read with
my child enough. Like they're right, I'm not figuring out
my time so that I can do that. I really
encourage you to think about that, Think about how you
(16:21):
can take pockets of time, even if you have to
kind of take it from something else. Don't we always
make compromises with our times. Yes, we always something has
to sit while we do another thing. We don't actually multitask.
You are when you are doing something, something else is
getting less of your attention. So we can make an
intentional decision to say, reading with my child's going to
(16:44):
get my attention today, that other thing I'll do tomorrow.
I'm not even saying if you're somebody who hasn't been
reading with your child, I'm not even saying you have
to do it every day, just if you've never done it.
Just start somewhere with maybe I'm gonna read every other day,
or I'm gonna yeah, you know, I'm gonna take the time.
You know what, folks, here's the truth about young children.
They're gonna grow up. So the time that you spend
(17:04):
sitting with them, cuddling with them, reading with them, is
not infinite. It's finite. It's going to end. At some point,
they're not gonna want to sit and cuddle with you
and do that. You have to take advantage of these
early childhood years to create that bond. One of the
ways you can create that bond is to sit and
read with children. Yeah right, And that is what lays
a foundation for the future. They need to value reading
(17:28):
not only because they're gonna have to do it for education,
but also because it's a nice way to relax, take
care of yourself and your mental health, to escape the
challenges of the current world and go into another world.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Yes, I don't know what my life would be like
if I didn't read on a daily basis, and it's
because I need it for my mental health. So like
it helps me escape, It helps me forget about my trouble.
Sometimes it helps me like just be in a different
world for a little while. It helps my imagination because
you're imagining the places while you're reading them.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
I don't think i'd be as relaxed. It also fires
the brain, like does i'm reading, I'm learning, I'm thinking.
I personally love memoirs, autobiographies, biographies. I learn about other
people's lives, which I find so interesting. So yeah, it's
part escape, but it's also part and part pleasure, but
it's also part interesting, fascinating, And we need children to
(18:24):
know that reading is fascinating because frankly, it's how they
learn about their world. The willingness to read as they
get older and continue into adulthood. Right, how are they
adding to their knowledge once they're out of school if
they're not readers, other than like documentaries and stuff like that.
But that isn't the only thing they need to I
think they need to value reading so that they will
(18:46):
get the most out of the world around them, you know. Yeah,
So I hope that you will think about this, and
no one's trying to make you feel bad, and no
one's trying to make you wrong. We're just saying that
the research is showing that something that actually was good,
you know, And I often talk about things that were
not good from generations past. Something that was actually good
from generations past. The fact that they would sit with
(19:07):
many of us and read with us is now just
going by the wayside, and we can't let it. Yeah, So,
you know, if we're not going to take the things
that were not so great from the past generations, can
we please take the thing that is. Please please think
about that. This is a thing that was good. Don't
discard that. What do they say, don't throw out the
baby with the bath water. I know you're going to
(19:28):
throw out some things from the past, but don't throw
this out. Go grab it. If you have thrown it out,
go get it out of the water, dust it off,
dry it off, and sit and read with children for
a little bit. There. The children's wonder at it all
can make it enjoyable for you. When I sit and
read with children, they're so into it. Oh my gosh,
I love that. It's amazing. I love that. So yeah, okay, folks,
(19:51):
I hope you will think about that and you will
go ahead and take some action based on it and
be a responder to this podcast. And if you don't
know what I'm talking about about being a responder two
episodes ago, episodes ago, Yes, two episodes ago. I think
it's something we're going to continually refer to. I think
so too. Okay, all right, preschool peeps, we will catch
(20:12):
you next time. In the meantime, if you have something
to add, you want to look for something, something to
say or ask, you know how to find us. You
can send us a message on Facebook or through our
contact form on our website. How preschool teachers do it
and if you prefer to use a QR code, it's
on YouTube. If you go to YouTube, don't forget to
like and subscribe. As they said, as it is done,
(20:34):
all right, folks, We'll catch you next time.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Bye, peeps,
Welcome to how preschool teachers do it. I'm Cindy, I'm Alison,
and we have a combined fifty five years of experience
working with children, families, and experts in early education. We
are not random influence. No, we are not. Whether you
are new or have been our podcast Peep since twenty eighteen,
we are thrilled you found us. Hi Preschool, Peep, hi Pee,
(00:28):
welcome back. We want to welcome people from around the
world and the country too. And we're super excited about
today's I don't know if they'll understand to see why,
but I am super excited about today's shout outs.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Okay, so here they go, go ahea, Let's see if
you get excited. We are shouting out Bavaria in Germany.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
So that's cool. That is very cool. I don't think
we've shouted out Germany before, have we?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
I think we have, but not Bavaria. Okay, I think
like Berlin maybe.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Oh maybe.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
And this cool because we've never shouted them out before.
And as you could tell if you're watching the YouTube,
Cindy's very excited about it. We're shouting out Alaska.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
I am like we were like the two of us
were like Alaska. People are listening to Alaska, And then
I realized my cousin was recently there. Could have been her,
could have been her, but maybe it's not. Maybe somebody
else could have been, could have been while she was there.
My cousin's husband is from Alaska, and so I'm just thinking, like,
could be them. I don't know them, but I could. Friends.
If you're thinking, if you're in Alaska and you're thinking,
(01:31):
I'm not Cindy's cousin, then Hi, Hi, how are you
finding us? Thank you for finding us. I think one
of the reasons we're so excited about that is that
Alaska is like far from us because we're on the
East coast.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
That's the yeah, the furthest most point I think in
the United States, maybe Hawaii, but.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
I don't know because I am not good at geography.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
I I just know Alaska is very very very very
very close to like Russia, right Like there's only that
little itty bitty straight something in between the two.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
I feel like you can across when it's on They
are close.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Yeah, I feel like Russia's closer to Alaska than we
are in the United States.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
In the mainland, in the main mainland. Yeah, so I
think because they are the United States, but on the mainland,
you know, I think that what you need to do
if you're in Alaska and you are listening or watching
us on YouTube, you need to go and tell everybody,
but you also maybe get a megaphone and you all
over to Russia. I don't know if you can do that.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
I don't know if we've ever shouted out Russia.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I don't I don't know.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
I would have to look back in our records. We
do keep records, black records.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
I have a very extensive list of everybody we've shouted
out in the least in the modern times, because we
used to do shout outs a couple of years ago
and then stop. And if in the future we shout
out Russia, I'm going to I think it's because of
this moment right now. It is possible that they heard
that they were not shouted out and they wanted to
be and here we are.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
We are just super excited that people in Alaska found us. Yes,
I cool. Yes, I think it's very cool, just like
I think when they find us in every state, it's cool.
But it is super cool because it's really far from us. Okay.
So anyway, folks, we're not here to talk about things
that I didn't do well in school, like geography. We're
here to talk about a different topic that I did
do well in school, and that is reading. Yes, so
(03:19):
Allison came upon an article. It's actually written by a publisher,
isn't it, Harpercollin HarperCollins written by a publisher, which tells
me perhaps the publishing company was thinking about the popularity
of reading and reading among children, because I don't know,
(03:40):
maybe they have children's books and it's reflected in the
sales or something. You know why I think that. I'll
tell you why. I think it real quick. Because there
was research done about children in outdoor play because laundry
detergent companies were making less money because fewer children were
getting their clothes dirty dirty. Yes, yes, so that's what's
started the whole campaign about get children out in nature
(04:02):
to play. It was the detergent companies that is interesting.
It was called the Yeah, the campaign was called dirt
is Good for the children. In this case, we have
an article from a publishing company which tells me that
the slogan should be something like reading is good. Please
get them to read.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Right, because it doesn't really say what prompts the research,
just that it says new research reveals that parents are
losing the love of reading aloud, so they are reading
aloud less to their children, and they don't find it enjoyable,
(04:39):
and therefore the love of reading is not getting passed
down to the children.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
You know, when I think about the way the world
is now, with people working so hard, so many hours,
the prices of things, yes, because of the prices of things. Yeah,
when I think about the fact that, you know, people
are more often looking to turn off and numb their
(05:04):
brain then use it when they're not at work and
when they're not be having to think really hard, and
just the busyness of our lives. You know, children are overscheduled,
which means the adults are who are running them around
or overscheduled. Life's changed from what it has years ago,
when you might have had a family where only one
parent works, or you might have had a family that
(05:26):
just sort of had the emotional mental wherewithal to spend
a different kind of time with their children, which listen.
In today's chaotic and somewhat outrageous world, I understand that
people are more overwrought overwhelmed. I totally get it. The
fact remains that for some reason, today's parents of young
(05:49):
children are not finding pleasure in reading with their children,
when you know, not too long ago, we used to
sit and read with our children and storytell with our children.
And you know, somehow that's going by the wayside, according
to this research.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
It is according to this by significant amounts. So it
says fewer than half of parents of children up to
the age of thirteen say reading a lot of children
is fun.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
So there's a lot less than half find fun.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
It says parents who grew up with technology themselves are
significantly more likely to view reading as a subject to
learn rather than a fun or enriching activity.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
That's interesting. I wonder if, like they as children, if
there are people who struggled with reading, that's why they
think it's a subject to learn rather than something that
can be enjoyable. And perhaps just going to take a
guess that some of the things we were forced to
(06:51):
read in school that were not enjoyable should have been
rethought because we want people to know that reading is joyful. Yes,
And I don't know about you, but I was meant
to read some things or made to read some things
that were that made me think this is terrible.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Right, But I think in the past, like if we
were reading things at school that were not enjoyable to
read when we got home, our parents would read things
that were maybe enjoyable, right, So there was maybe this balance.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
They at least made a distinction, and it was a
thing when we would say we were reading for school
and reading for pleasure, reading for fun, reading for pleasure
was a thing. But there were also a lot of
I don't know if this still exists, it might, but
there were a lot of these, like summer reading incentives.
Like I remember when I was a child, the library
or when my children were young, especially the library hosted
(07:44):
summer reading competitions. Yes, you have, if you read a
certain amount of books, something would happen. My library does
this now for adults, do they? I'm in it for
an adult for adult for.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Adults really yeah, which is cool, Like you put in
the books that you read. It's like a Google form
and then they draw it like a raffle and in
the car.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
But I'm an adult. I I don't really need the
motivation to read.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I read constantly, but I think that's cool that they
do that, but I know what you mean, Like, remember
like there used to be like a pizza place that
would have and you would go, yes, and you would
turn I don't know, I don't remember how it worked.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
You turned in how many books you read, and then
you would get like free pizza. You get free pizza.
I remember that. And it was a national change, and
that's why we all know. Yeah, yeah, it was a
national change.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
And you're you would get like a thing and they
would hang it up in the restaurant and so you
can go.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
And be like, oh, there's my name, you know, like
it was cool. You're absolutely right. Yeah, I don't know
if that exists anymore anywhere. I don't know. I would
be so interested to know if these things still exist. Yeah,
I but even regardless, even aside from that, there was
a lot of information and in school they would even
say here's your school reading assignment, and you also need
to read something for pleasure. Yeah right, yeah, And I
(08:53):
don't know that they even say that anymore or do
that anymore.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Maybe maybe some of them do, but definitely, according to
these statistics in the article, families are not doing it
doing it? What else did you find in that article.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
More than one in five boys twenty two percent aged.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Zero to two are rarely.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Or never read to. Only twenty nine percent of boys
in this age group are read to daily compared to
forty four percent of girls, underscoring early disparities in exposure
to books.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
That is gender bias, right, Yes, I wonder why that is?
Why is the perception the bias that girls need to
be read to but boys don't because they're supposed to
be more physical, more physical. That's that's my guess. Is
that in twenty twenty five? Really? Right? But there that's
ridiculous in twenty twenty five, especially with what goes on now,
(09:50):
with the push for children to go to college. Correct,
we would we would still think that you don't need
to read with boys, right. I don't understand. I don't
understand that. I don't get it, don't get but think
about you know, when I think about books for children,
I've seen a lot of books based on girl products,
girl oriented products.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Okay, or girl oriented characters.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Yes, because I'm thinking of one in my head that's Yes,
lots of female oriented books, but not so much for boys.
Maybe there aren't enough of them for boys. I'm sure
they exist, yeah, but maybe there are just aren't enough
that would capture a boy's interest.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Right.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
It reminds me when we were young, we had certain
characters that would capture a boy, like we had the
Encyclopedia Brown books, yea, and even before that, and this
is like I think before my time, they had what
was the one It wasn't Nancy Drew. It was oh
my god, now I can't think of it, but it
(10:50):
was a boy detective thing. Yeah, not Nancy Drew was
the girl's version. The boy was something else. But there
were like these books with that we're the main character
was a boy like them sort of or someone they
could look up to.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Right, But isn't that it's so sad that boys are
not represented in books that.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Like, I mean there, I think they're represented in books,
but I don't know.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
I don't think they's no way that allows the boys
to relate to.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Them though maybe I don't know, maybe it's not relatable.
If anyone could think of what I'm talking about, not
Nancy Drew, the other one for boys, let me know
to you? Yeah, all right? To continue with this, it says.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
The crisis and boys reading for pleasure continues from infancy
to adolescence, as only twelve percent of twelve to thirteen
year old boys read for fun, A compelling news study
shows social book groups can give boys space to express emotions.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
You mean, like a boy a book club for the
boys only so that the boys can come together talk
about what they've write. Isn't it true that coble sharing
within the book think about not even adult book clubs.
When I think about who I know, who's it's women.
It's women. It's women in the book clubs mostly. Anyway,
I as.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
A patron of my library, I go to my library
like once or twice a week.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Wow, I read a lot. I read, but I'm not
in the library. I'm in the library a lot. And
I was just there yesterday.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
And almost I want to say, ninety percent of the
people that I see walking in there are women.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
That's interesting to.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
The point that when a man walks in and is
like next to me looking at the new books, I
was like, oh, that's nice, Like I notice it because it's.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Almost always women. That's so interesting.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
So even I think like this goes all the way
up to like adulthood, where men don't read about But
what's interesting is most A lot of the books I read,
not most, but a good majority of the authors that
I read are men.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
You know. Here's the bottom line, though, This has to
be instilled in early child. Yes, so the fact that
young boys are not being read too, that today's families
are like not five, reading with children pleasurable, right, we
need to think about why that is why. And we
(13:08):
can't just say, oh, it's because their generation is so
into technology. I don't think that that's a reason. I
think there's got to be a reason the way reading
was treated with them when they were young, right. I
don't think it's just starting now.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
It has to be something that yeah, maybe started in
the generation before them, Like maybe that generation didn't read
to them and now they're really not don't.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
I don't know. I'm not sure if it's even in
this article. I don't know, but I feel like there
has to be a more deep seated reason than you
own an iPad.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
This says. The new data also revealed that many parents
don't find enjoyment in reading to their children, with only
forty percent of parents saying it is fun. Parents face
increasing pressures, with thirty four percent of parents of zero
to thirteen year olds wishing they had more time to
read to their children. Since twenty twelve, there has also
(14:01):
been a sharp increase in the number of parents reporting
that children have too much schoolwork oh that read things
forty nine percent in twenty twenty four compared to twenty
five percent in twenty twelve.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
That's a twenty five percent jump. The homework has to
stop in twelve years. The homework has to be reduced
or stopped. So they're being given way too much homework
to have time to do what they need to do
to lay a foundation for their future, which is read.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Here's a quote by a woman named Alison David from
the consumer insight director at Farshore and HarperCollins. Children's books
being read to makes reading fun for children. So it's
very concerning that many children are growing up without a
happy reading culture at home.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
It means they are more likely.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
To associate books with schoolwork, something they are tested on
and can do well or badly at, not something they
would enjoy.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
The good news is when reached children.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Are read too frequently, they very quickly come to love
it and become motivated to read themselves. Children who are
read to daily are three times as likely to choose
to read independently compared to children who aren't only read
too weekly at home. It's never too late to start
or resume reading to your child.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
It is never too late, they say, so if you're first.
We have a lot of early childhood professionals who listen
to and watch this podcast. Yes, And we're not here
to shame families to make them feel bad. We're here
to recognize that they are facing particular challenges that preclude
them reading with their children. And one of the things
(15:40):
that we can do to make that possible for them
is thinking about what sort of things am I sending home?
And how much right? What am I sending home for.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Them to do?
Speaker 1 (15:49):
How much? What is their lives? What are their lives like? Yeah?
And is there any way that we can offer support
to these people so that their lives can be eased
a little bit and they will have the time and
wherewithal to read with their children.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Right?
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Yes, there are also people raising children listening to us.
Whether you're an early child's a professional or not, there
are people raising children. So if you're listening to this
and you're thinking, you know, they're right, I have not
enjoyed reading them with my child. I don't read with
my child enough. Like they're right, I'm not figuring out
my time so that I can do that. I really
encourage you to think about that, Think about how you
(16:21):
can take pockets of time, even if you have to
kind of take it from something else. Don't we always
make compromises with our times. Yes, we always something has
to sit while we do another thing. We don't actually multitask.
You are when you are doing something, something else is
getting less of your attention. So we can make an
intentional decision to say, reading with my child's going to
(16:44):
get my attention today, that other thing I'll do tomorrow.
I'm not even saying if you're somebody who hasn't been
reading with your child, I'm not even saying you have
to do it every day, just if you've never done it.
Just start somewhere with maybe I'm gonna read every other day,
or I'm gonna yeah, you know, I'm gonna take the time.
You know what, folks, here's the truth about young children.
They're gonna grow up. So the time that you spend
(17:04):
sitting with them, cuddling with them, reading with them, is
not infinite. It's finite. It's going to end. At some point,
they're not gonna want to sit and cuddle with you
and do that. You have to take advantage of these
early childhood years to create that bond. One of the
ways you can create that bond is to sit and
read with children. Yeah right, And that is what lays
a foundation for the future. They need to value reading
(17:28):
not only because they're gonna have to do it for education,
but also because it's a nice way to relax, take
care of yourself and your mental health, to escape the
challenges of the current world and go into another world.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Yes, I don't know what my life would be like
if I didn't read on a daily basis, and it's
because I need it for my mental health. So like
it helps me escape, It helps me forget about my trouble.
Sometimes it helps me like just be in a different
world for a little while. It helps my imagination because
you're imagining the places while you're reading them.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
I don't think i'd be as relaxed. It also fires
the brain, like does i'm reading, I'm learning, I'm thinking.
I personally love memoirs, autobiographies, biographies. I learn about other
people's lives, which I find so interesting. So yeah, it's
part escape, but it's also part and part pleasure, but
it's also part interesting, fascinating, And we need children to
(18:24):
know that reading is fascinating because frankly, it's how they
learn about their world. The willingness to read as they
get older and continue into adulthood. Right, how are they
adding to their knowledge once they're out of school if
they're not readers, other than like documentaries and stuff like that.
But that isn't the only thing they need to I
think they need to value reading so that they will
(18:46):
get the most out of the world around them, you know. Yeah,
So I hope that you will think about this, and
no one's trying to make you feel bad, and no
one's trying to make you wrong. We're just saying that
the research is showing that something that actually was good,
you know, And I often talk about things that were
not good from generations past. Something that was actually good
from generations past. The fact that they would sit with
(19:07):
many of us and read with us is now just
going by the wayside, and we can't let it. Yeah, So,
you know, if we're not going to take the things
that were not so great from the past generations, can
we please take the thing that is. Please please think
about that. This is a thing that was good. Don't
discard that. What do they say, don't throw out the
baby with the bath water. I know you're going to
(19:28):
throw out some things from the past, but don't throw
this out. Go grab it. If you have thrown it out,
go get it out of the water, dust it off,
dry it off, and sit and read with children for
a little bit. There. The children's wonder at it all
can make it enjoyable for you. When I sit and
read with children, they're so into it. Oh my gosh,
I love that. It's amazing. I love that. So yeah, okay, folks,
(19:51):
I hope you will think about that and you will
go ahead and take some action based on it and
be a responder to this podcast. And if you don't
know what I'm talking about about being a responder two
episodes ago, episodes ago, Yes, two episodes ago. I think
it's something we're going to continually refer to. I think
so too. Okay, all right, preschool peeps, we will catch
(20:12):
you next time. In the meantime, if you have something
to add, you want to look for something, something to
say or ask, you know how to find us. You
can send us a message on Facebook or through our
contact form on our website. How preschool teachers do it
and if you prefer to use a QR code, it's
on YouTube. If you go to YouTube, don't forget to
like and subscribe. As they said, as it is done,
(20:34):
all right, folks, We'll catch you next time.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Bye, peeps,
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