1 in 7 Parents Have Sacked Off Story Time According to New Research

parents not reading to their children

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Story time was a staple in my household growing up. I remember each day I’d read various books with either Mum or Dad and have such fond memories of doing so.



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Today, research from Chessington World of Adventures Resorts has revealed that many parents are closing the book on story time.

The study of 2,000 parents shows that the reason for doing this is ‘stage fright’ and ‘nerves.


‘ With over a third of parents (36%) admitting to feeling nervous or self-conscious about reading stories to their children, story time is falling off the agenda for many parents!

One in seven (14%) parents have sacked off story time from the daily routine altogether.

Whatever the reason for this, it’s a sad statistic. Reading is an essential skill that all children need and exposing your child to books, words, language and stories right from the word go is arguably more important than whether you breastfeed or bottle feed.

The research also found over half of children (55%) find story time more exciting when parents get into character, using different voices and even costumes.
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(Finally, an excuse to wear that adult Gruffalo costume!)

It’s an interesting piece of research, and certainly uncovers a disturbing truth about the UK in 2019, but we’d like to know whether it’s true for Dadsnet readers. So, do you fall into the 14% of parents who don’t read to their children? Or are you like me, and read with your children every single day?

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2 Comments

  1. Gavin Watson

    I used to read to my boys all the time but they are now 7 and 9 and would much rather sit watching YouTube. But now that my daughter is just over 1 and is taking in every little bit of information she sees I’m going to read every day again and not be afraid of getting into character.

  2. Raegon

    My husband and I have read to our soon every evening at bedtime since the day he was born. We share books at lots of other times too, but the bedtime story is non-negotiable. He adores books and stories, and we see it as the simplest way to promote language skills! He chooses the book and we love the time together. Wouldn’t change it for the world!

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