Did you know that reading for enjoyment is one of the biggest predictors of a child’s future happiness and success?
More than family circumstance, parents’ educational background, or income, reading impacts a child’s future academic performance, emotional well-being, communication skills, economic security, ambition, and happiness.
Sadly, only 41% of children birth to five are being read to frequently. That’s down from 64% in 2012.
How Can You Help?
- Read aloud to a child for 15 minutes every day.
- Talk about the story and ask questions.
- Put books everywhere(car, bathroom, bedroom, stroller and the grocery cart).
- Make a reading fort or cozy place to read filled with books.
- Encourage children to read with a sibling, dog, cat or stuffed animal.
- Enroll your child in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library(DPIL).
- Be a role model and let children see you read.
- Show how you use reading every day at home and work(reading signs, recipes, grocery lists and labels).
- Visit your local library and bookstores.
- Get a library card and download the Libby app to access free books for adults and children.
- Advocate for state expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and tell policymakers this matters to you.
- Support or sponsor a DPIL Local Program Partner.
- Donate books to families in need.
Together, we need to pass along a love of books and reading to the next generation of readers and change this trend. Thank you for being a literacy champion!