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| Hearsay: |
Amount babies are read to turns out to be the biggest factor in toddler vocabulary. Of course, this coupled with data that suggests most parents (or in the case of this picture, childless models who look vaguely uncomfortable around larval beings) “don’t have time” to read stories to kids before bed, isn’t necessarily good news.
The stats emerged in a study of 2,000 parents was carried out by CITV to launch their new children’s show Bookaboo, which highlights the pleasures of books.
Worryingly, it also emerged only three per cent of fathers now find the time to read to the kids compared to 89 per cent of mothers.
Lucy Goodman, creator of Bookaboo, said: “It’s important development-wise that young boys are able to share a book with dads, granddads or male carers and it can be fun and rewarding too.
“Dads are just not finding time to do this but I hope in Bookaboo we’ve created a character who will inspire an appetite for books in both children and grown-ups.”
Of the dads who said they didn’t read to their kids 87 per cent blame work commitments while more than a third (34 per cent) said they were too tired.
Dudes, I’ve actually fallen asleep mid-sentence while reading and been subjected to viscious jabs in the ribs and exasperated “Ugh, DAD!”s… But I still make the time to read. (Once I even fell asleep on my back, Ninja Boy beside me, with my hands up in the air holding the book open. Ninja Boy thought it would be fun to wait and watch the book slowly slip from my hands and crack me spine-first on the nose. I woke to copious laughter and bright pain. I’m glad my lack of dignity and physical injury can provide some modicum of entertainment for my children.)
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February 27th, 2009 at 8:57 am
I don’t have kids, but I certainly think finding the time to read to/with them is essential. If your life is so busy you can’t find a little time before bed to do some reading then perhaps this isn’t the only issue you are having trouble with. Life is riding you with a bit and saddle, not the other way around.
February 27th, 2009 at 9:01 am
I have to agree with stephen. I’ve never been ridden that hard by life that i didnt have time to read to my kids.
February 27th, 2009 at 11:37 am
Hmmmm… will it cause permanent damage if my husband only reads to my kids from UFC fighter autobiographies and the Future Shop flyers?
February 27th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
I’m as busy and tired as any other working stiff, but I still manage to read to my daughter every night at bedtime, albeit usually while straining to keep my heavy eyelids open. As such I’m taking partial credit (most of which, admittedly, belongs to my home-schooling wife) for the kid being twice as smart as I was at the same age. And though my nose has never been cracked by a falling book, it’s only a matter of time.
March 1st, 2009 at 8:29 pm
reading to children should be an encoded part of every parents brain. Whether it is reading little reader books, fantasy fiction, or the Bible any parent who doesn’t read to their children is stealing from them one of the greatest opportunities for growth and self-realization.
I think those children who are read to by their parents are those who become the most insightful leaders of their generations. Of course a great deal of it all depends on what you read to them too…
March 1st, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Let’s not get too far away from reality here. There are plenty of parents who have their hands full with just making ends meet and ensuring their children are fed. There’s a range of socio-economic issues at play here that might affect how the data pans out.
But despite my new-found place in the bourgeoisie, memory tells me that lower class me at age 5 was read to every night in the apartment…
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:35 am
I’ve found parenthood a wonderful occasion for experiment. I keep my boy locked in a dark room. When I do come in–every 12 hours or so to feed him and tape a new plastic bag to his backside–I make a point of avoiding eye contact and saying nothing. It’s too early yet to say what the results of this will be, but I’m eager to find out.
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:39 am
I bet he’ll end up a chip off the old block, Z.
March 2nd, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Reading to kids is one of the best things about parenthood. Period.
If you don’t, you’re missing a lot.
Books can be borrowed from the library, BTW, or passed around among friends, or requested from wealthier relatives at gift-giving occassions, if the family budget is limping.
Mary
March 4th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
The weirdest thing about falling asleep while reading to the kids is trying to gauge how much time has elapsed since you stopped talking. Was it a split second or 10 minutes? Did the kid even notice or were they just watching me sleep?