Industry News
Less than half of dads read bedtime story
Posted on 11th April 2008
Research by the National Year of Reading has found that only 42 per cent of fathers read to their children before bed, compared with 76 per cent of mums.
Stress at work and long hours were the main obstacles dads said they faced in being home to read to their children and one in ten said they felt they didn't have the confidence to do it and that the job was better suited to mums.
Over 2,000 people were surveyed as part of a campaign by the government initiative to illustrate the pressures dads face in being at home to read to their children and the impact this could ultimately have. It was found that a quarter of children felt they were not encouraged to read by either parent.
Director of the National Year of Reading Honor Wilson-Fletcher said: "Reading is the best private investment you can make in your child's education. It's free and makes you feel like the best parent on earth."
Secretary of state for children, schools and families Ed Balls said he hoped the National Year of Reading would help show that reading is an essential life skill.