Tracking Children's Reading
by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 6/19/2006
The poor book-reading habits of American adults trickle down to their children, a study sponsored by Scholastic found. Although the vast majority of adults and children believe reading is the key to getting into college and finding a good job, only 16% of 15–17–year-olds read frequently for fun, the study found. And while the study determined that children of parents who read a lot are more likely to be frequent readers, only 21% of adults are classified as reading frequently. But even if parents don't read, Scholastic's Lisa Holton said, they need to encourage their children to do so and help them find books of interest. According to the study, the top reason why children don't read more for fun is that they have trouble finding books they like. Parents, the report found, are a key source of book ideas, particularly for children who are high frequency readers. Among the other reasons children reported not reading more were that they would rather do other things.
The study, "The Kids and Family Reading Report," analyzed the reading habits of five- to 17-year-olds.
| Reading Frequency* | 5–8 | 9–11 | 12–14 | 15–17 |
| High | 44 | 29 | 25 | 16 |
| Meduim | 42 | 51 | 44 | 38 |
| Low | 14 | 20 | 31 | 46 |
| *High = Reads every day; Medium = Reads 4–6 times a week to once a week; Low = 2–3 times a month | ||||
| Source: "Kids and Family Reading Report" | ||||
| High Frequency | Medium Frequency | Low Frequency |
| 1. Library/Librarian (25%) | 1. Teachers (17%) | 1. Teachers (20%) |
| 2. Parents (21%) | 2. Library/Librarian (16%) | 2. Friends (16%) |
| 3. Friends (15%) | 3. Friends (14%) | 3. Library/Librarian (13%) |
| 4. Teachers (10%) | 4.Parents (14%) | 4. Television (9%) |
| 5. Book store (10%) | 5. Book store (11%) | 5. Parents (8%) |
| Source: "Kids and Family Reading Report" | ||
