Reading to Young Children
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Headline

Young children of well-educated mothers are much more likely to be read to every day by a family member than are children of less educated mothers. (See Figure 1)

Importance

Children develop literacy related skills long before they are able to read.¹ By reading aloud to their young children, parents can help them acquire the prerequisite skills they will need to learn to read in school. Being read to has been identified as a source of children's early literacy development, including knowledge about the alphabet, print, and characteristics of written language.²

By the age of 2, children who are read to regularly display greater language comprehension, larger vocabularies and higher cognitive skills than their peers.³ Shared parent-child book reading during children's preschool years leads to higher reading achievement in elementary school⁴ as well as greater enthusiasm for reading and learning.⁵ In addition, being read to aids in the socioemotional development of young children,⁶ and gives them the skills to become independent readers and transition from infancy to toddlerhood.⁷

Trends

The percentage of young children who are read aloud to every day by a family member increased slightly between 1993 and 2005. In 2005, 60 percent of 3- to 5-year-old children (who had not yet entered kindergarten) were read to every day compared with 53 percent in 1993. (See Table 1)

Differences by Mother's Education Level

Young children are more likely to be read to if their mothers have completed higher levels of education. In 2005, 72 percent of young children whose mothers had graduated from college were read to every day by a family member. In contrast, 60 percent of children whose mothers had some college education were read to every day, compared with 55 percent whose mothers had only finished high school and 41 percent whose mothers had not finished high school. (See Figure 1)

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Differences by Poverty Status

Young children living in poverty are less likely to be read to every day by a family member than are children living at or above the poverty line. In 2005, 50 percent of 3- to 5-year-olds in families below the poverty line were read to every day, compared with 60 percent of children at 100-199% poverty and 65 percent of children at 200% poverty and above. (See Figure 2)

Differences by Race and Hispanic Origin

Young children who are non-Hispanic white or Asian are more likely to be read to than children who are either Hispanic or non-Hispanic black. In 2005, 68 percent of non-Hispanic white and 66 percent of Asian 3- to 5-year-olds were read to every day by a family member, compared with 50 percent of non-Hispanic black children and 45 percent of Hispanic children. (See Table 1)

Differences by Family Type

Children living with two married parents were more likely to be read to every day than children with one or two unmarried parents. In 2005, 63 percent of children with two married parents were read to everyday versus 53 percent of children with one parent and 50 percent of children with two unmarried parents. (See Table 1)

Related Indicators

Parental Involvement in Schools

State and Local Estimates

State estimates for 2003 are available for ages 0-5 through the National Survey for Children's Health at http://nschdata.org/dataquery/SurveyAreas.aspx (Select The Child's Family under State Profile)

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International Estimates

None available

National Goals

Though now outdated, in 1990 the National Education Goals Panel established its first National Education Goal: "By the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn."⁸ To reach this goal, the Goals Panel created three objectives for families and communities. The second objective stated, in part, that "every parent in the United States will be a child's first teacher and devote time each day to helping such parent's preschool child learn."⁹ The Goals Panel also designated family-child reading and storytelling as an indicator of progress toward this goal.¹⁰

For additional information:
National Education Goals Panel (1999). The National Education Goals Report: Building a Nation of Learners, 1999. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/negp/reports/99rpt.pdf

What Works: Programs and Interventions that May Influence this Indicator

Click here to view examples of programs and interventions that research has evaluated for this indicator. View programs

Research References

¹ Fast Facts on Raising Readers. What Families Can Do. America Reads Challenge, U.S. Department of Education. Available:http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/families_raising.html

²Armbruster, B., Lehr, F., and Osborn, J. (2002). "Teaching Our Youngest: A Guide for Preschool Teachers and Child Care and Family Providers." Early Childhood Task Force. Us Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available: http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/early/teachingouryoungest/index.html

³ Raikes, H., Pan, B.A., Luze, G.J., Tamis-LeMonda, C.S., Brooks-Gunn, J., Constantine, J., Tarullo, L.B., Raikes, H.A, Rodriguez, E. (2006). "Mother-child bookreading in low-income families: Correlates and outcomes during the first three years of life." Child Development, 77(4).

⁴Kuo, A.A., Franke, T.M., Regalado, M., and Halfon, N. (2004). "Parent Report of Reading to Young Children." Pediatrics, 113(6), pp. 1944-1951.

⁵"Raising Readers". Reading Is Fundamental Incorporated. Available: http://www.rif.org/parents/articles/Raising.mspx

⁶ Kuo, A.A., Franke, T.M., Regalado, M., and Halfon, N.

⁷ "Toddler Reading Time." KidsHealth. The Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health Media. Available: http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/learning/reading_toddler.html

⁸National Education Goals Panel (1997). Special Early Childhood Report, 1997. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. P. 3. http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/negp/Reports/spcl.pdf

⁹National Education Goals Panel (1997). P. 1. http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/negp/Reports/spcl.pdf

¹⁰National Education Goals Panel (1999). The National Education Goals Report: Building a Nation of Learners, 1999. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/negp/reports/99rpt.pdf

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Definition

This indicator measures the percentage of pre-kindergarten children ages 3 to 5 who were read to every day in the week prior to the interview by a family member.

Data Source

Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2006. Table ED1. Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Based on National Household Education Survey analysis. http://childstats.gov/americaschildren/tables.asp (see Appendix A, Detailed Tables, Table ED1)

Raw Data Source

National Household Education Survey http://nces.ed.gov/nhes/

Date of Next Update

Unknown

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