by Mateo Ibranji

54% of parents do not read aloud

A new survey shows how far we have to go to encourage parents to read aloud to their children. Conducted by Read Aloud 15 Minutes, a national campaign to increase reading aloud at home, the report shows that fewer than half (46%) of parents read aloud to their children every day, and only 34% do so for at least 15 minutes. These statistics are alarming to us, but as always, we are approaching this in a positive and outgoing way. It is our topmost goal for every parent in our reach to read to their kids every day, and this study offers some new insight on how to tackle this issue.

Reading aloud should be a priority

Read Aloud 15 Minutes believes that educating parents about their child’s brain development is the key to getting them to make reading aloud a top priority. “We think if parents truly grasped the amazing, and finite, window of opportunity they have to shape their child’s brain for the better, they would do it”- says Dr. Candace Kendle, the non-profit’s president and co-founder. Numerous studies do show that reading to your child from a very young age not only strengthens the parent-child relationship, but it also serves to develop their brains, as it builds their vocabulary and knowledge about the world around them.

Finding the time every day

Parents have very busy lives, that isn’t a secret, and reading to their kids unfortunately gets neglected in their daily lives. Nearly 40% of parents who aren’t reading aloud said they just “can’t find time in the day” and BookSpring is proud to help them find new and exciting ways to make reading aloud an everyday and fun activity.

Read Aloud 15 Minutes. Read Aloud Survey: Many Parents Missing Key Window For Brain Development. readaloud.org. Read Aloud 15 Minutes, 9 Mar. 2016. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.