[CatherineofAragon]

I agree with everything you said, but I also blame the fact that kids don’t read anymore. I hear them say, “I don’t read”, as though it’s something to be proud of. How can anyone have language skills when they never see the language being used correctly?

The parents shoulder that blame, IMO. My parents read to me all the time....love of reading needs to be ingrained in a child.

[PA Engineer]

I agree with everything you said, but I also blame the fact that kids don’t read anymore. I hear them say, “I don’t read”, as though it’s something to be proud of. How can anyone have language skills when they never see the language being used correctly?

I agree with both of you. We have always had a large library at home and read to our daughter daily. We provided her with an unlimited budget for books as a child. There was some financial pain when she took us up on it and read well over a hundred books a year.

She tested out of almost every grade level in both reading and writing by the time she hit High School. Her Honors courses easily transferred to college.

The differences in development were stunning when compared to other students whose parents did not emphasize home reading, but relied on the public education system.

We have observed this relationship over and over again through the years. The students who are struggling are the ones without a single book in the household and parents not engaged in reading activities with their children.