READ-ALOUD FREQUENCY IS ON THE RISE
Overall, 55% of children ages 0–5 are read books aloud at home at least five days a week, with 37% read to daily. And some of these children (52%) are read to twice a day or more. The data also show an encouraging increase in the number of 6–8-year-olds being read aloud to compared to 2016 (from 38% to 45%).
YET, READ-ALOUD FREQUENCY DIMINISHES RAPIDLY AS CHILDREN GROW OLDER
Read-aloud time is unquestionably a beloved and important family event. We also know from previous analysis through the Kids & Family Reading Report that both being read aloud to 5–7 days a week before kindergarten and continuing this habit are key factors in predicting whether or not children ages 6–11 will be frequent readers.
And yet, reading aloud peaks at age five. While a majority of families read aloud 5–7 days a week before a child enters kindergarten (55%), this percentage begins to decline dramatically with each additional year of age. This decrease is closely mirrored by parents’ view on the importance of reading aloud as children grow older (see Figure 4). When asked why read-aloud decreases or stops, parents most commonly cite the fact that children can read on their own. For many kids, becoming an independent reader corresponds with the first major decline in read-aloud frequency among the 6–8 age group.
The data also display a disparity among lower- and higher-income households. Lower-income families with children ages eight and under read aloud less frequently; 39% among families with household incomes less than $35,000 and 62% among families with incomes of $100,000 or more. Lower-income families with kids ages five and under are also less likely, at 46% compared to about seven in 10, to have received information on the importance of reading aloud from birth when their children were babies.
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