FAST FACTSQuestion:
Do you have any information on family reading to young children?
Response:
The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) collected information on a cohort of children who were born in 2001 and focused on several aspects of early childhood development, including interactions between young children and their families and the ways by which parents raise, nurture, and prepare their children for school. For the first three waves, data were collected on the children as infants (at about 9 months old), then as toddlers (at about 2 years old), and again as preschoolers (at about 4 years old). At each age, between one-third and one-half of these children were read to daily by a family member. In addition, approximately one-fourth of children at each of these ages were told stories daily and between one-half and three-quarters were sung to daily.
In general, at all ages, a higher percentage of White children had family members who read to them daily than did children of other races/ethnicities. Also, a higher percentage of Asian children were read to than Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native children at all ages, and than Black children at ages 2 and 4 (with rates not measurably different at 9 months of age). Forty-one percent of White, 26 percent of Asian, 23 percent of Black, 21 percent of Hispanic, and 18 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native 9-month-olds had family members who read to them daily.
Overall, a smaller percentage of children in poverty were read to, told stories, or sung to daily by a family member than children at or above poverty. In general, levels of maternal education were positively related to the percentage of children who were read to, told stories, or sung to daily. A smaller percentage of children whose families spoke a language other than English in the home were read to, told stories, or sung to daily than children whose families spoke primarily English in the home.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2009). The Condition of Education 2009 (NCES 2009-081),Indicator 2.
| Percentage of 9-month-olds, 2-year-olds, and 4-year-olds read to, told stories, and sung to daily in a typical week by a family member, by child and family characteristics: 2001–02, 2003–04, and 2005–06 | |||||||||
| Characteristic | Read stories to | Told stories | Sung to | ||||||
| 9-month-olds | 2-year-olds | 4-year-olds | 9-month-olds | 2-year-olds | 4-year-olds | 9-month-olds | 2-year-olds | 4-year-olds | |
| Total | 32.5 | 45.3 | 38.6 | 27.2 | 28.0 | 22.8 | 73.5 | 67.6 | 49.7 |
| Sex | |||||||||
| Male | 32.0 | 43.2 | 37.5 | 27.4 | 26.8 | 21.6 | 72.6 | 64.6 | 44.5 |
| Female | 33.1 | 47.5 | 39.7 | 27.0 | 29.4 | 24.1 | 74.5 | 70.8 | 55.2 |
| Race/ethnicity1 | |||||||||
| White | 40.7 | 59.3 | 50.5 | 31.0 | 32.3 | 25.6 | 74.9 | 69.9 | 50.7 |
| Black | 22.6 | 24.7 | 20.5 | 23.9 | 20.9 | 19.0 | 73.2 | 68.5 | 54.3 |
| Hispanic | 21.4 | 27.2 | 23.3 | 21.1 | 22.7 | 19.0 | 70.3 | 62.6 | 45.0 |
| Asian | 26.4 | 42.2 | 38.1 | 24.7 | 31.1 | 27.4 | 70.1 | 60.9 | 40.5 |
| Pacific Islander | 19.6! | 27.8! | 35.8! | 38.9! | 39.7! | 30.4! | 81.3 | 84.7 | 53.8 |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 18.5 | 29.8 | 25.3 | 22.9 | 22.7 | 17.5 | 63.7 | 55.5 | 45.2 |
| Two or more races | 35.3 | 47.2 | 39.5 | 29.5 | 29.4 | 20.6 | 81.5 | 70.2 | 56.2 |
| Poverty Status | |||||||||
| In poverty | 22.3 | 27.9 | 21.3 | 24.3 | 22.6 | 20.6 | 67.3 | 63.3 | 47.4 |
| At or above poverty | 35.8 | 50.7 | 44.3 | 28.2 | 29.8 | 23.6 | 75.6 | 68.9 | 50.5 |
1 Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). The Condition of Education 2009 (NCES 2009–081),Table A-2-1.
Related Tables and Figures: (Listed by Release Date)
Other Resources: (Listed by Release Date)
- 2010, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS): This survey includes three longitudinal studies that examine child development, school readiness, and early school experiences.
- 2010, National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES): This site provides access to publications and data on learning at all ages, from early childhood to school age through adulthood.
