Fewer people are now reading for pleasure - just how worried should we be?

"With literacy rates declining across OECD countries, building healthy habits around books is truly essential. Allowing reading at dinner started as one of those on-the-spot parental solutions. Letting them have a copy of Bunny Vs Monkey or The Beano while they ate seemed like a more ethical solution for keeping them in their chairs for the duration of the meal than, say, duct tape."

Literacy rates are declining across OECD countries, making it essential to build healthy reading habits in children. A parent shares their unconventional approach of allowing children to read at the dinner table, which initially served as a practical solution to keep them seated during meals. While this practice challenges traditional dinner etiquette expectations, it prioritizes fostering a positive relationship with reading over strict adherence to conventional family dining rules. This flexible parenting strategy demonstrates how accommodating children's reading interests can contribute to developing literacy engagement during everyday moments.

Read at Independent