What shapes children’s attitudes towards reading? What value do parents place on reading to children? The latest Scholastic Kids and Family Reading Report investigates.

Scholastic’s 8th Kids & Family Reading Report surveyed 1,700 American parents and their children about their attitudes towards reading. 

The report found that although reading books has been repeatedly shown to enhance children’s and families’ lives, the habit nonetheless wanes as children get older.

Books help with parenting 

The report found that the vast majority of parents (90%) believe books help create opportunities for conversation with their children. 

The survey also found 74% of parents have used books to support their child’s development. 

Almost half of the parents surveyed said books helped their young ones explore their interests and better understand their feelings and emotions. 

Many parents (59%) have also turned to books to help their child with specific feelings and emotions. 

For kids, 70% of children aged 6–17 reported that books had helped them in some way – with 42% saying books had helped them explore their interests, 36% saying they had helped them appreciate other people’s experiences, and 31% saying books had helped them understand their own feelings. 

Kids are reading less as they grow older

Scholastic has tracked 6–17 year olds’ reading habits since 2010. In that time, the number of kids who read frequently (5–7 days a week) has declined from 37% to 28%. The number of moderate readers (1–4 days a week) has remained fairly steady. 

The study found a marked decline in reading as children get older. 70% of 6–8 year olds enjoy reading, compared to just 46% of 12–17 year olds. This is mirrored in how often kids are reading: 46% of 6–8 year olds read frequently compared to just 15% of 15–17 year olds. 

The report found that parents and role models have a significant role to play in how much reading a child does. 

80% of children who are frequent readers said “a lot or nearly everyone in their life” enjoyed reading. Only 26% of infrequent readers said the same thing. 

The report found children model their reading behaviour primarily on their parents (83%), but 40% looked to their siblings and 34% looked to their teachers. 

Promisingly, more parents are reporting wanting their kids to read more. In 2018, 73% of parents said they wanted their kids to read more compared to 82% in the latest results. 

Reading aloud to infants is in decline, even though parents and kids still enjoy it

Since 2018 the number of parents who began reading aloud to their child before the age of three months has been in decline, from 43% to 37% in 2022. 

Worryingly, parents of children under five years old have also reported receiving less advice about the importance of reading allowed to their children. 

That said, 92% of parents and 86% of kids agree that reading aloud is a special time in their relationship, so there is some hope that these numbers can be reversed. 

Libraries remain important 

According to the research, 63% of children get most of their books from public, school, and classroom libraries. 

Children without a school library, however, face increased difficulty finding books they love. 54% of children who do not have access to a library said they found it difficult to find new books. 

Read the full findings of Scholastic’s Kids and Family Reading Report.