Where Readers Are Made
A child read to at home becomes a reader for life. It’s among the most proven findings in education, and among the cheapest gifts a parent can give.Share on X
Family reading points at a truth that ranks among the most reliable in all of education: readers are made at home.
The research on this is about as settled as research gets.
A child who’s read to, who sees books in the house, who watches their parents read, becomes a reader. A child who doesn’t, usually doesn’t. The single biggest predictor of whether a kid grows up loving books is whether reading was part of life at home. School, income, and natural ability all matter less. That’s it. The home does most of the work.
I’m living proof of it. My mother read to me when I was small, took me to the library, and made sure the house was full of books. That foundation set the course of my whole life, all the way to writing over a hundred books of my own.
The Cheapest Powerful Thing a Parent Can Do
Reading to your kid for twenty minutes a night does more for their future than almost anything money can buy. The most powerful parenting tool is nearly free.Share on X
The most powerful thing a parent can do for a child’s future is also one of the cheapest.
Reading to your kid for twenty minutes a night doesn’t cost anything beyond a library card and the time. No tutoring fees, no enrichment programs, no expensive anything. Just a parent, a child, and a book, night after night. And it does more for that child’s vocabulary, attention, imagination, and future than almost anything you could buy. The kid who’s read to starts school ahead and tends to stay ahead because of those twenty minutes.
It builds on itself, too. The child who loves books reads more. That builds vocabulary and knowledge. That makes reading easier and more enjoyable. That leads to more reading. It’s a snowball that starts with a parent and a bedtime story. Miss those early years and the snowball never gets rolling, and that’s why family literacy is the foundation everything else gets built on.
The reading snowball that starts with a parent and a bedtime story.
How do you spend National Family Literacy Day?
If you have kids, read to them. Tonight, and every night you can. It’s the highest-return thing you’ll do as a parent, and it doesn’t feel like work because it’s just time together with a story.
Let them see you read, too. Kids copy what their parents do more than what they say to do. A house with books in it and parents who read raises readers almost automatically. Take them to the library and let them pick their own books, even the weird ones, because the goal is love of reading. And if your own kids are grown, read to a grandchild, or support a literacy program, or donate books. The chain only continues if someone keeps it going.
| What to do | Why it works |
|---|---|
| Read to your kids every night you can | Twenty minutes a night shapes vocabulary, attention and imagination |
| Let them see you read | Kids copy what parents do more than what they say |
| Keep books in the house | A house with books and reading parents raises readers |
| Let them pick library books, even weird ones | The goal is love of reading |
| Grown kids? Read to a grandchild or support literacy | The chain only continues if someone keeps it going |
My mother kept it going for me. That’s the point of the day.
National Family Literacy Day FAQ
- Celebrate National Family Literacy Day, All month long, National Center for Families Learning
- Beyond Literacy: Shared Reading Starting at Birth Offers Lifelong Benefits, American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org)