A middle school teacher on Reddit is pleading with parents to read to their children after noticing a significant drop in students’ skills. They posted on the Momit subreddit in a last-ditch effort to get parents to pay attention to their children’s literacy.
“Please love what you read to your child every day!!!” they implored.
“I’m not talking about dozens of books or chapters, but seriously reading to your child for 5-10 minutes is not only good for the parent-child relationship, it’s good for their brain too! And when your child is old enough to read, let them read to you too!!”
They continued, “I’m a middle school teacher, and I’m so burnt out with kids who can’t read at all. I’m not talking about them reading 1 grade, 2 grade, 5 grade, 10 grade, or even a few years behind. I’m talking 5 grades or more and dozens and dozens of years behind. Please. If you love your child, take a few minutes to relax and prepare. You and your child need it. Stop the rants.”
The post quickly gained traction, with over 3,000 upvotes and comments from parents with a variety of opinions.
“Adding to your point, children who are read aloud frequently are able to absorb more vocabulary. My daughter’s doctor’s office has commented on how clearly she speaks, and when they hear us reading to them, they realize how much of a difference reading makes to children’s speech clarity. And it’s such a nice bonding experience. It’s so enriching for them. It doesn’t take up so much of their day,” one user wrote.
Another joked, “And you can sit or lie down while you do it! As a parent, I’m a big fan of sit or lie down.”
One mother shared, “I have a co-worker who said that kids should be kids and that it’s okay to read books in school… So she doesn’t read to them… I haven’t really looked at her the same way ever since. And she’s a big reader herself! I don’t understand.”
One user pointed out an opinion that many parents are having these days. “Reading books to children is teacher’s work.
“BIL’s girlfriend couldn’t believe that my 6-year-old daughter can read almost anything, while her daughter can barely read, let alone at a first grade level. And she’s pretty upset that the school didn’t teach her daughter better, because “it’s the school’s job to teach kids how to read.” I just…no, it’s definitely your job,” they wrote.
One Reddit user pointed out that there is a happy medium in this discourse about reading to children.
“Reading together every day is essential for developing vocabulary, sound formation, comprehension, and background knowledge. Give it a try,” they began.
“But that doesn’t teach 75 percent of kids how to read. Most kids need explicit instruction about what symbols sound like and how they mix to make words. It also comes with a lot of sight words. Most middle school students today , which is a product of elementary education, doesn’t include much explicit decoding instruction, and teachers, while well-intentioned, don’t have a high level of training to teach specific reading skills, which I believe is a big reason why school boards are paying attention.
So, why Why don’t parents read books to their children? Of course, many of us are very thinly scattered and there are no villages. At the end of the day, reading can feel like a mountain that’s hard to move. Apparently, many parents don’t like to do that.
The HarperCollins UK/Nielsen survey of around 2,000 people found an alarming drop in the amount of reading families read from a similar study conducted in 2012.
Only 41% of parents with children aged 0 to 4 report reading frequently to their children, down from 64% 13 years ago, the survey found. That may be because only 40% of parents with children between the ages of 0 and 13 find reading aloud to their children enjoyable.
If anything, this will be a great reminder to read aloud to your children, even if it’s just to foster a quiet bond.
