Ep 125: Why Aren’t Children Reading For Pleasure?

2025-08-11

Why Aren’t Children Reading for Pleasure Anymore? 📚Reading for fun is at an all-time low and the stats are sobering. In 2025, just one in three children said they enjoyed reading in their free time. That is a 36% drop since 2005. What is going on?In this episode, we talk about what we have seen across our teaching careers, the barriers stopping children from picking up a book, and the cultural shift that is turning reading into “work” instead of leisure. From the fact that one in seven pr...

Why Aren’t Children Reading for Pleasure Anymore? 📚
Reading for fun is at an all-time low and the stats are sobering. In 2025, just one in three children said they enjoyed reading in their free time. That is a 36% drop since 2005. What is going on?

In this episode, we talk about what we have seen across our teaching careers, the barriers stopping children from picking up a book, and the cultural shift that is turning reading into “work” instead of leisure. From the fact that one in seven primary schools have no library (rising to one in four in disadvantaged areas) to the impact of screens, testing culture and a lack of representation in books, we explore the roots of the problem.

We also share what actually works, from free choice and shared reading to building a reading culture at home, and ask the big question: What will it take to turn this around?

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