High-earning mothers are much less likely to read to their children as work takes priority over family time.Just two thirds of women earning between £30,000 and £50,000 read to their children compared to 84 per cent of women earning less than £10,000. However, in many high-earning families the father was more likely to share responsibility for bedtime reading.
The survey also found children spent twice as much time watching TV than enjoying a book with an adult. The youngsters enjoyed just 3 hours and 25 minutes of story time a week but spent 7 hours and 46 minutes watching television over the same period.
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Sue Palmer, author of Toxic Childhood said: "When parents are frantically juggling work and domestic responsibilities, children often rely on the TV for company. What they really need is real-life contact with loving adults in their lives - sharing and talking about a book together is a lovely way to provide this contact."
The study was launched to coincide with the launch of Booktime 2007, a nationwide reading programme to encourage more parents and children to read together. As part of the initiative they are distributing 700,000 copies of the chilren's book 'Funnybones' to schools across the UK.
For more information visit http://booktime.pearson.com
September 2007
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