Children need to read

and they need time to read.

Has anyone else wondered if "poor reading skills" in children might also be associated with children being "time poor"? We talk about "time poor" adults, particularly mothers, but are some children also time poor?

I was, inevitably, talking to a mother yesterday. She was following up an article in the paper. S... was saying that her children are not doing as well as she would like in reading.

"We have strict limits on screen time," she told me. In her household this is probably true. There are books in the house too. I have seen them.

"What else are they doing?" I asked. 

"Well J... is doing soccer and swimming and Little Athletics and piano and he goes to the computer programming class... and B....does soccer and swimming and ballet and piano and her acting class...that's all. Oh and they both go to youth group of course."

That's all? Those two children alone are doing something each afternoon after school. They also have homework and there are the usual "play dates" and birthday parties. J...and B... are still in primary school. Their lives are crowded with activities. Add even a small amount of screen time to that and where is the time for reading. 

B...would actually like more reading time. She has told me this herself. If the book she is reading is particularly engaging she will sometimes go on with it in preference to playing games on the computer. J... prefers shooting down aliens.

I feel worried for children like this. They don't have enough time in their lives to do something like read? Their parents both go to work and they can "afford" all these activities...or can they? It can't be cheap and it takes time.

Of course there are children who read more than others. Our local library is testament to that. Some children do go out with arms full of books but there are too many others being told, "Just two. You won't have time to read more than that." I have heard parents and grandparents actually say this. 

Reading is a skill like any other. It needs practice. It needs time. Is it time to give children time to read?