Latest research from Egmont shows number has dropped by one fifth since 2013.
The latest annual research from Egmont Publishing has found that the number of preschoolers being read to on a daily basis is in decline.
The publisher found that the number of preschool children being read to daily has dropped from seven out of ten to just over half over the past five years.
Egmont co-funds Nielsen Book Research’s annual Understanding the Children’s Book Consumer survey into the reading habits of UK children. This found that 58% of parents of 3 to 4s were stopped from reading to their children by a number of obstacles – the greatest being the struggle to find energy at the end of the day, as well as the child’s preference to do other things.
At the same time, there is an uptake in toddlers watching online video content daily (up by almost one fifth between 2013-2017).
While daily reading for pleasure among 0-17s was up by 4% year-on-year, with three in ten 0-17s reading for pleasure, Egmont stressed that this steep decline in preschoolers reading and being read to signalled a significant threat to child development, with potential long-term social impact.
The data also revealed that one in five parents of children in the 3-4 age group don’t feel comfortable in bookshops, and nearly half are overwhelmed by the choice of children’s books, acting as further barriers to raising children who enjoy reading.
Further research by Egmont also revealed that parents often felt anxious about taking disruptive toddlers into a bookshop or library.
Alison David, consumer insight director at Egmont Publishing, commented: “At such a crucial time in a child’s development, it’s essential that parents understand the enormous benefits that reading for pleasure will bring both them and their child, both in terms of attainment and enjoyment.
“As an industry, we have a responsibility to help parents: if a parent is a reluctant reader themselves and isn’t enjoying reading to their children or visiting bookshops and libraries, it’s very difficult to nurture a love of reading in the child.”
The survey also showed that three in five parents with children in this age group worry about the amount of time their children spend in front of a screen, which may explain why preschool titles make up the largest portion of the children’s magazine market.
Alison continued: “We know that parents are increasingly concerned about screen time, especially the popularity of YouTube among young children. Our research tells us we need to give children a real range of print alternatives to choose from: whether that’s a magazine, a graphic novel, a comic or a picture book.
“A sense of agency, and being given the freedom to pick their own reading material, is far more effective in creating life-long readers than a strict reading list.”
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