Gen Z Parents Not Reading to Children Alarms Experts

[240B]

Gen Z Parents Not Reading to Children Alarms Experts

Newsweek
By Marni Rose McFall
Jun 07, 2025



"There are so many advantages to reading together with your child," Hugh Rabagliati, a psychology professor at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, told Newsweek. "Books help kids to learn new concepts and ideas; they encourage kids to engage in discussion; and they prepare kids for reading, through attending to wordplay and vocabulary."

Carmel Houston-Price, professor of language and cognitive development at the University of Reading in England, told Newsweek over email: "For young children, it's 'book-sharing' rather than 'reading' that best supports their development, as 'sharing' implies that the child and parent are not just reading the printed pages but are actively engaging with the book and each other; turning the pages, repeating the lines, talking about the pictures, relating the story to the child's own experiences.

"Babies and toddlers often show interest in looking at books before their first birthday, particularly books with textures, flaps or rhymes that catch their attention, precisely because these types of books allow the type of exploration and interaction with the adult that is beneficial to children's learning," Houston-Price said.

She added: "Book-sharing also supports children's early language development, both in terms of the vocabulary used in the book and children's skill in answering questions and telling stories."

(more)
https://www.newsweek.com/gen-z-parents-children-reading-literacy-crisis-2081875

[mountaineer]

Too many parents seem willing to cede all responsibility for the child's education to the public schools. Big mistake.

[Wingnut]

Too many parents seem willing to cede all responsibility for the child's education to the public schools. Big mistake.

Or a mobile device.

[240B]

I am not sure how many Gen Z are even able to read at all. And it gets worse in America with every generation.
They speak and read a kind of simplistic 'internet English'. They can only read on a TikTok level.

[mountaineer]

I'm averse to broad generalizations, but have observed that many under age 25 or so cannot read, write, or express themselves coherently.

[GtHawk]

Or a mobile device.

Exactly, I have observed that the parenting has been abdicated to smart phones and tablets so that the children are pacified and parents don’t have to deal with teaching kids how to behave in public or interrupt the oh so important socializing of the egg and sperm donors.

[Hoodat]

They stopped teaching cursive, too.

[Free Vulcan]

My parents never read to me because I did the reading myself.

Don't give your kids a fish, teach them how to do it.

Otherwise dial back the screeching drama Newsweak.

[mountaineer]

Or a mobile device.

I hate seeing a child of any age, but especially pre-elementary school age, entertaining themselves with a mobile device when they could be interacting with other people, looking at a book, drawing pictures or anything else that actually engages their minds.