Bucks child development expert urges reading over Christmas
It comes as 41% of children now read on digital devices
A child development expert from Buckinghamshire is urging parents to use Christmas as an opportunity to read with their child or children.
It comes as research by The National Literacy Trust shows having opportunities to read digitally could be particularly effective for children with low levels of reading engagement.
41% of children now read on digital formats
Recent polling by YouGov has shown that literature and the way we read has evolved over the years. In fact, 27% of children now read just as much print as they do digital, and 41% now read on digital formats every day or several times a week.
But Dr Jacqueline Harding says adults can sometimes be reluctant to use technology to help with reading: "There are more entry points to literacy than ever before. Sometimes we can be a little bit slow embracing new technology. It isn't a case of only print, only book, or only online media, we can actually have both."
According to Jacqueline, people should get behind all forms of reading as it can have huge benefits.
Consequences of not reading
"If a child doesn't read, they tend to be less socially engaged, they have less to talk about. There's less resilience, less empathy, so depriving children of any kind of wonderful literary experience, doesn't get them started off on the right route."
How to get a child reading
If a child is struggling to read then Jacqueline has explained there are things you can do.
"Take an interest in what your child is interested in, that's the secret. So it's connection. What the young, developing brain likes is novelty, pictures, and it likes social connection."
She continued: "We must not put young minds under stress. Sometimes we do that by pushing something that they're not ready for or interested in. So there's a whole argument to be had around starting from the child's interest."