chefmom logo
Get a FREE Newsletter - delivered right to your email.
Find out! Get the latest parenting info for your child's stage of development - sent right to your inbox!

 
[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Family Reading to Young Children




Reading to young children promotes language acquisition and correlates with literacy development and, later on, with achievement in reading comprehension and overall success in school. The percentage of young children read aloud to daily by a family member is one indicator of how well young children are prepared for school.

Education as an indicator
  • In 1996, 57 percent of children ages 3 to 5 were read aloud to by a family member every day in the last week, up slightly from 53 percent in 1993.
  • As a mother's education increases, so does the likelihood that her child is read to every day. In 1996, about three-quarters (77 percent) of children whose mothers were college graduates were read aloud to every day. In comparison, daily reading aloud occurred for 62 percent of children whose mothers had some postsecondary experience, 49 percent whose mothers had completed high school but had no education beyond that, and 37 percent whose mothers had not completed high school.
  • White, non-Hispanic children are more likely to be read aloud to every day than either black, non-Hispanic or Hispanic children. Sixty-four percent of white, non-Hispanic children, 44 percent of black non-Hispanic children, and 39 percent of Hispanic children were read to every day in 1996.
  • Children in families with incomes below the poverty line are less likely to be read aloud to every day than are children in families with incomes above the poverty line. Forty-six percent of children in families in poverty were read to every day in 1996, compared to 61 percent of children in families above the poverty line.
  • Children living with two parents are more likely to be read aloud to every day than are children who live with one or no parent. Sixty-one percent of children in two-parent households were read to every day in 1996, compared to 46 percent of children living with one or no parent.



A snapshot of the stats
Below is a chart demonstrating the percentage of children ages 3 to 5 who were read to every day by a family member by mother's education (based on 1996).



Percentage of children ages 3 to 5 who were read to every day by a family member



NOTE: Estimates are based on children ages 3 to 5 who have yet to enter kindergarten.the end


Links, information and more for you

Children's Book Council
Directory of ages articles
Directory of all articles


About this information: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Survey.

join clubs and boards




 






© Copyright 2003 - , SheKnows LLC, a Division of Atomic Online LLC - All Rights Reserved
Contact Us Advertise Here About Us Privacy Policy Terms of use/disclaimer Media Kit SheKnows Site List