Is it one thing to neglect reading bedtime stories to your children (which means “bad”) but not talking to them? How is that possible?
It’s a reliably depressing annual tradition, but this year it’s even more so, with all forms of communication between parents and young children plummeting since the pandemic, according to new research from the National Literacy Trust. There is.
The proportion of parents who read to their children under five every day has fallen to 50% from 65% in 2019.
Only 56% of parents say they play with their children every day (down from 76%).
And here’s the really scary part. Only 78 percent of people say they chat with their children at least once a day, compared to 90 percent in 2019.
Children under the age of five are the most determined and talkative of nature’s creations. They chase you around the kitchen, down the hallway, up the stairs, and under the covers, chattering under their breath the entire time.
Sharing a home with a 5-year-old and somehow avoiding chatting with them is an amazingly strange, almost awe-inspiring feat.
Except it’s not, because we all know why it’s happening. The National Literacy Trust, trying its best not to be judgmental, says it is responsible for the cost of living crisis. Ten percent of parents surveyed said they were too busy or stressed to support their children’s reading and writing at home. Oh yeah, I’m too busy scrolling.
The pandemic has forced many parents, faced with the absurdity of having to work from home while simultaneously educating and entertaining their children, to give up on limiting screen time for themselves and their offspring. It was a moment. It has become common for families to coexist in separate bubbles. Kids are on iPads, parents are rummaging on laptops or doomscrolling on their phones.
Adults are just as susceptible to screen addiction as children. Something I personally feel all the time is a recurring, nagging urge to check my phone or just let it slip out of my head. I have to consciously avoid having books in my hands when my children are talking to me. This is so you don’t accidentally raise it to eye level and convey the terrible truth that you’re torn between listening to the kids and seeing the whole thing. Stranger’s Instagram Reel.
But I’d like to think this is important, at least I’m making an effort. What’s going on in the minds of the 22% of parents who can’t even have regular conversations with their children? Don’t they understand what a fundamental failure this is? Teaching children how to communicate can only be done through constant talking, but it is as basic a parent’s duty as feeding and clothing them.
If duty isn’t enough motivation, what about fun? Raising young children can often feel daunting with all the gear, schedules, tantrums and lost shoes. But if your child takes your hand and asks you what you think about something, “Would you rather have a shotgun for farting or mustard gas for sneezing?” – they’re not looking for anything but your opinion. .
This is the purest moment of communion, when parent and child simply compliment each other on their interest. If you’re not interested, why would you want to be a parent?
