According to The National Endowment for the Arts, in their study, "To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence."
● Only 30% of 13-year-olds read for pleasure on a regular basis
● The average American between the ages of 15 and 24 spends only seven minutes a day reading and half never read for pleasure
● 38% of employers find high school graduates deficient in reading comprehension
● Corporate employers spend $3.1 billion for remedial courses; state employers spend $221 million annually
I find that really sad. When I was young my best friends were named Anne, Lucy, and Laura. I met them in books, and they have stayed with me to this day.
Perhaps it was because I was an only child, but books were my refuge.
We started reading to our daughters when they were six months old. Before bed, I would curl them on my lap and we would look at a board book. They would hit the pages, and that would be it.
By age 1 1/2 we had graduated to actual paper pages, which they figured out how to turn, and often we wouldn't really get through the story because they were turning them so quickly. But they still loved books. They wrecked a ton of them by chewing them, tearing them, and writing in them. But they were their friends.
My oldest daughter could read just before age 5. She has always been an avid reader. Not so my younger daughter. She loves listening to books, but reading them on her own has always been a struggle, until the last few months. This is how I found her this morning when I woke up:
 Kids need to read more and watch TV less. We need to start limiting screen time and getting them both reading and outside running around. Spring's here, so it's a perfect time to start a reading challenge.
Why not set a goal for your kids for how many books they can read by September? My kids are each working on 25. So am I! Our problem is that once we start, it's hard to stop. I tend not to make meals, or talk to anyone, if I'm engrossed in a good book. So I need to learn a bit of balance. But reading is great for everybody, and it lets you share experiences together. Let's turn our kids on to reading. It's a great gift to give them.
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Stumble It!
I couldn't agree more! It's hard to know why kids don't enjoy reading? My husband and I are both readers. My youngest is learning to read and enjoying it quite a bit. My oldest is not nearly as enthusiastic. We are not giving up though!