Paradise Found » Americans are Reading Less

Americans are Reading Less

November 19, 2007 at 11:20 am · Filed under home education, books

According to the National Endowment for the Arts, Americans are reading less well, and less in general.

Americans are reading less - teens and young adults read less often and for shorter amounts of time compared with other age groups and with Americans of previous years.

Less than one-third of 13-year-olds are daily readers, a 14 percent decline from 20 years earlier. Among 17-year-olds, the percentage of non-readers doubled over a 20-year period, from nine percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004.¹

On average, Americans ages 15 to 24 spend almost two hours a day watching TV, and only seven minutes of their daily leisure time on reading.²

Americans are reading less well – reading scores continue to worsen, especially among teenagers and young males. By contrast, the average reading score of 9-year-olds has improved.

My 12 year old reads for about 4 hours each day (!), sometimes more depending on his most recent library haul. My 15 year old reads daily, but less since he’s become so interested in music. He reads mostly at night before bed, for maybe an hour.

I’m curious. How many of you have kids who are daily readers?

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jax said,

November 19, 2007 @ 12:40 pm

Not Americans, but my 7 year old is a daily reader. Mainly at bedtime for some reason, although occasionally during the day. Usually around an hour too.

carrie said,

November 19, 2007 @ 12:55 pm

Natalie, my almost 11-year-old is required to read at least an hour a day, but often reads two or more. My 9 year old and 8 year old boys each read daily, at least 1/2 hour, but more likely an hour or so. They are definitely less motivated to read on their own time than my daughter is, but they still enjoy it. I read every day - at least an hour. In a perfect world, I’d be able to get by on 4 hours of sleep and I’d have three more hours to read a day!

rosecdrake said,

November 19, 2007 @ 1:53 pm

My 7yo & 10yo read for 2+ hours/day each.

Meg said,

November 19, 2007 @ 5:04 pm

You mean I should be taking their noses out of books? My kids are constant readers, if there’s nothing going on, they are reading.

We actually made rules when they were younger that walking and reading wasn’t allowed; and eating and reading could only be done if it was only the three of us (no Hubby) at a meal.

debra said,

November 20, 2007 @ 3:50 am

We’re always reading something around here. Daughter #1 is in college and has tons of reading to do–I’m not sure how much time she has for pleasure reading. She comes home tonight—I’ll ask
Daughter #2—-16 in a month—–reads lots and lots—I don’t know how much time because I’ve never kept track of it. I just know she does. Now, however, she’s heavily into watching Gilmore Girls reruns. At least she’s half-way through Season 6 (of 7) so it won’t go on much longer…..

tribeofautodidacts said,

November 20, 2007 @ 5:42 am

Ironically, since I have always been such a ravenous bibliophile, my kids (ages 9 and 13) are not really daily readers. It kind of ebbs and flows. I wonder whether anyone else will stop by and confess to having kids who are NOT big daily readers.

Shelly said,

November 20, 2007 @ 5:56 am

A little aside … I read awhile back that the average American child owns 13 books. Yes, 13. Maybe that’s because my kids own all the rest of them. The kids and I read a bunch, and we have the same dinner-time rule as Meg. I will say that chapter books at the dinner table are easier to deal with than the younger one’s picture books!

2funkidsmom said,

November 20, 2007 @ 6:29 am

I’ll confess - as a child my mom use to call the library to ask them to send me home - but not my kids. We have books everywhere, but they next to never pick them up on their own to read. My 10 year old daughter is required to read at least 30 minutes a day - I’m getting ready to up that to an hour. And my 7 yo son is still learning to read. He loves to be read to though.
I’ll keep encouraging them, maybe it will change….

Becky said,

November 20, 2007 @ 9:01 am

Well, half-Americans here

My kids are 10, 8.5 and almost 7 and they read every day, but mostly at night — there are just too many adventures to have, and things to make and do, during the day. My boys, the two youngest, tend to read mostly for information, and my daughter (the 10yo) prefers stories. She’ll also grab a book when we go to town and reads when there’s a free moment, for example in line at the bank or while waiting during her brother’s music lesson.

And what else are most of those kids doing when they’re *not* reading? Probably something electronic rather than, say, making wampum…

paradisefound said,

November 20, 2007 @ 3:53 pm

Meg, Shelly, those rules pretty much apply here, too. My youngest takes a book with him *everywhere*. He reads while we’re driving (no car sickness there!), while he’s waiting, while he’s having breakfast or lunch (solo). And when he builds with legos or does dishes? He’s listening to an audio book.

I think for some kids it does ebb and flow. Hopefully when they *are* reading it’s completely enjoyable for them. And I think that some kids just come to it later. Or not at all.

Becky, funny. My oldest son read primarily for information until he was 10 or so. Straight for the NF section of the library! My youngest *rarely* reads non fiction.