A study by HarperCollins Publishers finds that less than half of parents with children under the age of 13 say reading aloud to kids is “fun for me.” And that lack of enthusiasm is being passed down to children. The same study found almost one-third of children between the ages of 5 and 13 looked at reading as “more a subject to learn than a fun thing to do.”

The study, which was made in conjunction with NielsenIQ BookData, found just 41% of parents with a child four years or under is reading to them frequently. That’s down significantly from the 64% figure in 2012. 

Boys are getting bedtime stories much less than girls. The survey found only 29% of 0–2-year-old boys were read to “every day” or “nearly every day,” compared to 44% of girls in the same age group. And more than one in five boys (22%) aged 0-2 are rarely or never read to.

School isn’t helping. In 2024, only 24% of children aged 5-10 had a daily story time in their class, compared to 29% in 2023.

“Being read to makes reading fun for children,” said Alison David, Consumer Insight Director at Farshore and HarperCollins Children’s Books. “So, it’s very concerning that many children are growing up without a happy reading culture at home. It means they are more likely to associate reading with schoolwork, something they are tested on and can do well or badly, not something they could enjoy. … Children who are read to daily are almost three times as likely to choose to read independently compared to children who are only read to weekly at home.”

The issue is especially pronounced among Generation Z parents, the study found. Some 28% of parents in that age group saw reading as “more a subject to learn,” perhaps because they tend to focus on electronic entertainment over books themselves.