I’ll never be a parent, but it makes me sad when a parent doesn’t read to their kids. Signs are pointing to a decrease in Gen Z parents reading to their children.
If parents are reading out loud to their children less, US educators can tell. Russell, who offers courses to teach literacy skills to kids as young as 18 months, regularly gets inquiries from parents of older children – some as old as 14 – who still struggle to crack open a book.There are other tell-tale signs. “We see children who can sit still and focus for hours on YouTube or Miss Rachel, but when you sit them down with a book, they move, wiggle, or scream and run away,” said Russell, who lives in Houston.
Gen Z parents inherited an economy racked by inequity and instability that makes child rearing all the more stressful. The cost of childcare in the US – roughly $11,000 a year on average – has soared since the 90s. It’s no wonder they might be too tired or stressed to read to their kids at night, even if they realize it’s important to do so.
