The poll of 2,000 parents of four to- 11-year-olds by Booktrust, the UK’s largest reading charity, finds that on average mums and dads spend over 1.5 hours engaging in screen time every day, compared to just 25 minutes reading with their children.
Half of parents confessed to either frequently skipping pages when reading with children, finishing the story before the end, or refusing to read a second book. Of those who admitted to skipping pages, half did so because they were too tired.
Almost a fifth of parents blamed their lack of shared family reading on long working hours.
The survey also found that reading is not perceived as a fun activity to engage in together throughout the day, with over half of parents saying they are more inclined to restrict reading to the bedtime routine. Despite this, more than eight in ten (81 per cent) acknowledged that their child enjoys being read to, and nearly three-quarters said their child loves to share stories together.
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