Only half of parents read to their young children every day

Only half of parents read to their young children every day and almost a quarter do not chat to them, a new survey shows.

A poll of 2,000 parents by the National Literacy Trust (NLT) found fewer parents are engaging in daily literacy activities with their children since the pandemic.

The study, of UK parents with pre-school children, found only 50 per cent said they read with them at least once a day in the past week.

Meanwhile, 56 per cent said they had played with them daily and 78 per cent said they had chatted with them once a day.

Chatting was defined as 'responded to the child's words, babbling or gestures'.

The survey included both men and women, and most respondents were either working part-time or full time.

It is not known what proportion of them would consider themselves their child's primary carer, or whether any were non-resident parents due to relationship breakdown.

The poll, by Survation, follows a similar study by the charity in 2019, before the pandemic, when such activities were more widespread.

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That previous survey found 66 per cent said they read daily with their child, while 76 per cent said they played with their child daily.

Meanwhile, 90 per cent parents said they chatted daily with their child in 2019.

The charity suggested that the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis are likely to have played a significant role in the decline.

The NLT is calling for 'urgent and considered action' as it has said the home learning environment is vital for improving outcomes for young children.

Jonathan Douglas, chief executive of the NLT, said: 'A child's early grasp on language and first steps to build communication skills will set them up for life.

'We know parents want to give their children the best possible start in life, but the socioeconomic events of the past five years and limited local support for parents to build awareness and learn new skills around early literacy development have contributed to a climate in which parents have limited finance, time and energy for engaging in home learning activities.'