According to a recent survey by the National Literacy Trust, almost one in five children between the ages of five and eight in England do not have a book of their own at home. This is a 1.9% increase since before the pandemic started.
National Literacy Trust has said that the issue is ‘considerably greater’ in young boys, with 21% without a book, compared with 16% of girls, noting a need for more boys to have access to reading.
It has been found that the cost-of-living crisis is believed to by the reason for this increase. 87% of parents said they have less disposable income and 64% said that the amount of money they have to spend on books for their children has decreased. Just over half believe that books are too expensive now with a third saying that they have even started selling their children’s books to raise money for more books.
Despite this increase of children without books, 53% did say that books remain an essential item in their household and a remarkable eight in 10 do believe that reading is essential to their child’s well-being and development. Nine in 10 children said that they would be happy to receive a book as a present, with many saying that it makes them feel better when they are sad.
Chief executive of the National Literacy Trust, Jonathan Douglas, said: “Owning your own books is a crucial step in children reading more for pleasure, leading to increased literacy levels and improving a child’s life chances later on in life.” The charity has partnered with McDonald’s to ensure that more children can start the new school term being able to read books at home. Through this partnership, they are donating 500,000 free books to areas across England that are seen as needing them the most.
Words by Cara-Louise Scott
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