“Kids Don’t Read Books Because Parents Don’t Read Books”

There have been some really great articles coming out recently about the reported fact that children do not read books anymore.  In “Kids Don’t Read Books Because Parents Don’t Read Books” in Forbes magazine, writer Jordan Shapiro argues that kids are not reading because they don’t see adults/parents making reading a priority.  Coming from an early literacy perspective, one of the best pieces of advice we can give to parents is to read to your children from birth or even before and to make sure your kids see you reading as well.  If parents are spending their time attached to their laptops, tablets, and cell phones then kids are going to grow up with the understanding that technology is important – and it is.  But so are a lot of other things, like reading.

I grew up in a household where my parents not only read aloud to us every day, but where we grew up watching them read as well.  My dad read the newspaper, articles and papers for work, and when he had time – novels.  My mom read magazines and novels and would always make it a point to begin her summer break (she’s a professor) with a book.  We went to the public library fairly regularly and right before school began each fall we got to go to the bookstore and pick out a book to add to our own collection.  This was a HUGE deal in our household – we weren’t poor and we weren’t too wealthy either, but getting the chance to pick out a book to keep was, in my mind, amazing.

As Shapiro says, culture is focused on STEM education and creative ideas and technology, but I think that reading needs to be a priority in order for children and adults to succeed in any of these areas. And the best way to get kids reading is for the adults in their lives to be excited about reading!