Kids &amp; Family Reading Report™. 6th Edition
Author: Scholastic Inc.
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Reading Habits,Oral Reading,Emergent Literacy,Parent Role,Reading Aloud to Others,Parent Attitudes,Childrens Literature,Young Children,Children,Adolescents,Adolescent Literature,Summer Programs,Surveys,Minority Groups,Hispanic Americans,African Americans,Reading Material Selection,Reading Attitudes,Role Models,Racial Differences,Recreational Reading

This report presents the 6th Edition of Scholastic's biannual study of children's and parents' attitudes and behaviors about reading. The latest research touches on: (1) Reading Books for Fun; (2) Reading Aloud; (3) Summer Reading; and (4) Favorite Children's Books. This research provides both reasons to celebrate as well as a strong motivation to continue working to ensure that all children are able to read the books they love every day. Among the most positive findings is the impact of the recent movement to encourage families to begin reading aloud to their children at birth and to keep going as their children get older. Previously, Scholastic found 30% of parents with children ages 0-5 reported reading to their child before three months old. Today, 40% of parents do. The percentage of families reading aloud to young children 5-7 days a week has also increased among families with kids ages 3-5 (55% to 62%), yet it was found that many parents read less often to children older than 5, with another steep drop-off occurring at age 8. While starting to read aloud early matters, it is known that having books at home also makes a difference in kids' reading lives. The report verifies that the homes of frequent readers have far more children's books than the homes of infrequent readers, and a similar disparity exists in low-income homes and the homes of African-American and Hispanic families. This is a strong call to action to ensure to work hard to get books into the hands of every child. Scholastic also wanted to better understand what diversity in children's books means to parents, as well as what types of characters kids and parents look for in kids' books. Parents shared with that when they consider the meaning of diversity in books for children and teens, they believe these books include &quot;people and experiences different than those of their child&quot; (73%), &quot;various cultures, customs or religions&quot; (68%), &quot;differently-abled people&quot; (51%), &quot;people of color&quot; (47%), and &quot;LGBTQ people&quot; (21%). Scholastic also found about one in 10 kids look for characters who are differently-abled (13%), are culturally or ethnically diverse (11%), and who break stereotypes (11%). Hispanic and African-American families express more interest in diverse books than non-Hispanic and non-African-American families. Many people working in schools and education are aware of the academic skills lost over the summer when children are out of school, but in this edition of the Kids &amp; Family Reading Report Scholastic found that only 48% of parents have heard of the summer slide, a percentage that decreases to 38% among lower-income families. Even as kids tell that, contrary to popular belief, they enjoy summer reading and believe it is important, they need more support and access to books. On average, one in five 12-17 year-olds and one in five kids in lower-income families do not read any books at all over the summer. While the report reveals that many kids continue to have trouble finding books they like, parents underestimate this challenge. Only 29% of parents agree &quot;my child has trouble finding books he/she likes,&quot; whereas 41% of kids agree--57% among infrequent readers vs. 26% of frequent readers. Fortunately, the data in the report can offer guidance on where kids and families get great ideas about books to read for fun. Literacy empowers children to explore, communicate, debate and think critically. The ability to read widely with curiosity and joy prepares children to become adults who are fully engaged with their world. The &quot;Kids &amp; Family Reading Report&quot; helps to understand how adults can support children as they first learn to read, and then love to read. The following are appended: (1) Methodology; (2) Demographics of the Sample; (3) Subgroup Sample Sizes; and (4) Expanded Survey Responses. [For the previous report, &quot;Kids &amp; Family Reading Report™. 5th Edition,&quot; see ED562678.]