Reading frequency is also at a historic low, with 20.5% of eight- to 18-year-olds reporting reading daily in their free time, compared with 28% last year.
The gender gap in reading enjoyment has widened, with 28.2% of boys aged eight to 18 now saying they enjoy reading in their free time, compared with 40.5% of girls.
“We know that children who read for pleasure, and children who are read to, gain all kinds of benefits, from increased vocabulary to vastly improved mental wellbeing”, said children’s laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce. “But today’s survey shows that too often as a nation we are withholding those benefits from our children.” He described the benefits as an “invisible privilege”.
The NLT found that twice as many children who said they enjoy reading in their spare time have above average reading skills (34.2%) compared with those who don’t enjoy it (15.7%).
Children who read in their free time at least once a month said that it helps them to relax (56.6%) and feel happy (41%), learn new things (50.9%), understand the views of others (32.8%) and learn about other cultures (32.4%).
