The term reading for pleasure means a situation when a child reads any texts outside of educational activities, school or out-of-school.
86% of children aged 6 to 17 agree that it is important for their future to become a good reader. At the same time, 58% of children like to read for pleasure.
Many children find it difficult to find interesting books, and for parents this problem is not always obvious.
41% of children admit that they have difficulty finding good books, and only 29% of parents believe that their children need help with their choice.
Answers differ between groups of inactive and active readers. It is difficult to find an interesting book for 57% of the first and only 26% of the second group have similar difficulties.
Boys also find it harder to make a choice than girls: 45% of boys say searching is difficult, while for girls it is true only in 36% of cases.
How to help a child make the right choice.
An important point! This advice is given to parents based on their children's answers about whose advice they trust.
So:
Consult teachers and school librarians! The best reading tips for children come from them - 51%.
Encourage your child to discuss books with peers! Children listen to friends, brothers, sisters and peers among relatives - 50%.
Encourage younger children to join the school book club and attend the book festival. Children aged 6 to 11 years find there what to read - 50%.
With teenagers try to search together for information on social networks. Teenagers aged 15-17 are looking for references on Facebook, Instagram, etc. (For Russian children, VKontakte ranks first) - 26%.
And ta-da! The data that everyone wanted to see.
Who can be children of children role models:
Parents are the main inspirers of children's reading for pleasure - 82%.
Teachers and school librarians are in second place - 67%.
Details of how children's voices were heard in relation to the statement, "It is important for my future that I become a good reader.
Children aged 6-8 years agree with this statement in 88% of cases.
At the age of 9-11 years old, 92% of the time.
At the age of 12-14 years - in 83% of cases.
At the age of 15-17 years - in 82% of cases.
Boys are less likely to associate their future with reading.
82% of boys and 90% of girls agree with the above statement.
Age breakdown of positive reactions to the statement "I know I need to read more for pleasure".
Children aged 6-8 years agree with this statement in 79% of cases.
At the age of 9-11 years - in 79% of cases.
At the age of 12-14 years - in 75% of cases.
At the age of 15-17 years - in 71% of cases.
At the same time, boys and girls agree with the statement equally - 76%.
Since 2010, there has been virtually no change in the frequency of children's reading. The only insignificant decrease is the number of children reading for pleasure 5-7 days a week.
The results of the study show that girls are more likely to become active readers than boys, as are younger children compared to older children.
32% of children read for pleasure 5-7 days a week, though:
aged 6-8 years - 47%
at the age of 9-11 years - 39%
at the age of 12-14 years - 27%
at the age of 15-17 years - 17%
and 37% of girls, compared to 27% of boys.
If we compare the new data with the data of 2010, we see that children more often agree that reading is important for pleasure, and parents agree less often.
For parents, it fell from 89% in 2010 to 84% in 2016, and for children it rose from 50% in 2010 to 55% in 2016.
At the same time, children aged 6 to 8 years have had a worse view of reading for pleasure (from 63% in 2010 to 57% in 2016), and the overall growth has been achieved by children aged 9 to 17 years. This is a significant increase at every age from 2010 to 2016:
In the age group 9-11 years old from 52% to 59%
At the age of 12-14 years old from 49% to 53%
At the age of 15-17 years old from 39% to 50%
To recognize the importance of this is one thing, to enjoy reading for pleasure (and so on) is another.