Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Interesting results from survey of children's reading habits

Publisher Scholastic and consumer trends researcher Yankelovich, Inc. have just released the results of a survey of children and parents regarding the reading habits of children. Some of the results are no surprise: Children of parents who are high frequency readers are far more likely to read for fun every day than children whose parents are not high frequency readers, and boys are less likely than girls to have positive attitudes about reading. But there were some interesting results in the survey. 92% of kids enjoy reading for fun, but only 31% are actually reading for fun frequently. And the number of high frequency readers drops off sharply after age 8, and is even lower for teens.

And why aren't they reading more often? Kids report that the number one reason they do not read more is that they cannot find books they like! Combine this with the result that shows that high frequency readers are more likely to depend on parents as a source of ideas for books to read, and it shows how important it is for parents, teachers, and librarians to help tweens, and even teens, find good books to read.

Another interesting factoid: kids who use technology platforms to read or listen to books are more inclined, not less inclined, to be high frequency readers.

You can view the entire report at: www.scholastic.com/readingreport

No comments: