Why Parents Are Not Reading to Children, and the Impact on Young Students

Jeana Wallace didnt enjoy books as a child. School reading assignments failed to capture her interest, and constant deadlines made it even harder to connect with the stories, she recalled. Reading felt like a chore, something to rush through for tests or homework. When Wallace became a mother in 2019, she rarely read to her son at homemaybe once or twice a week, if that, she said, in their Frankfort, Kentucky home.

Her perspective shifted when her son turned three. Wallace worked at a local adult education center, helping develop a family literacy program. There, she learned research shows that reading to young children daily can improve school readiness, build language and listening skills, and support social-emotional development.

Today, Wallaces family reads three to four books every night. The results are visible: her son, Levi, almost six, has a broad vocabulary, speaks in complete sentences, and has gained a strong sense of confidence. His life is going to be so much easier because he loves to read, Wallace said. I didnt want him to grow up hating reading like I did. I always struggled with comprehension and remembering what I read, and that made it hard.

Wallaces initial reluctance to reading reflects a wider trend among parents. A HarperCollins UK report found that fewer caregivers now read daily to their young children. Many new parents dislike of reading stems from their own classroom experiences in the early 2000s, which focused on reading as a skill for testing rather than enjoyment. Some parents also undervalue reading because of reliance on digital educational tools, which offer limited learning benefits.

The consequences for children who are not read to are significant. According to Susan Neuman, a childhood literacy professor at NYU, the early gap between children who are read to and those who are not is already noticeable in kindergarten. A 2019 Ohio State University study estimated that a five-year-old read to daily is exposed to nearly 300,000 more words than a child who isnt.

Recent surveys confirm this decline. A 2025 HarperCollins study found only 41% of children aged 04 were read to daily or almost daily, down from 50% in 2019. About one-third of parents read weekly, while 20% of parents of children aged 02 and 8% of parents of children aged 34 reported rarely or never reading to their child. Experts believe these figures might underestimate the decline, as some parents overreport reading frequency.

Young parents, particularly Gen-Z (born 19972012), often see reading as a task rather than a source of enjoyment. Classroom experiences during the era of No Child Left Behind, which emphasized annual standardized testing and skill drills, reduced reading to a mechanical exercise. This generation is now entering parenthood, passing down limited reading habits to their children, which can affect social-emotional and cognitive development.

Early literacy specialists stress that reading to infants and toddlers matters. It supports language development, communication skills, fine motor skills, and vocabulary acquisition, while also fostering social-emotional growth. Even eight-month-old infants benefit from regular exposure to rich language. Reading aloud builds positive associations with books, encouraging children to enjoy the activity rather than see it as a task.

Despite the benefits, reading in schools has become highly performance-focused, emphasizing test preparation over engagement or comprehension. In contrast, countries like Finland prioritize play and oral language development before formal reading instruction, avoiding pressure on young children.

Screen time is another challenge. Many children prefer digital devices, which offer instant gratification but lack the depth and interactive learning of reading physical books. Reading demands parent involvement, supports comprehension, and helps children connect meaningfully with textskills that educational apps cannot fully replicate.

For the Wallace family, daily reading has made a tangible difference. Levi now reads almost entire pages independently and proudly shares his progress with family members via FaceTime or in person. Regular reading has fostered both his literacy skills and his excitement about learning.

Author: Sophia Brooks