00:00 You know, times are tight and we're busy and we're all holding down jobs and running our
00:06 household but to find time to spend reading with your child at the end of the day or snatching
00:13 some time during the day is invaluable. I mean, the reading allows these children to
00:18 go on an adventure with their parents or carers or grandparents without leaving the house
00:22 really and it builds such bonds and strong connections, doesn't it?
00:28 Despite overwhelming evidence that reading improves children's cognitive development,
00:32 social skills and academic success, a survey by online school Kings Inter High found one
00:37 in four adults with children said that their kids were too busy doing other activities
00:42 to pick up a book this summer.
00:44 Reading doesn't necessarily have to be picking up a physical book. It could be an e-book,
00:48 it could be an audio book. It could be following, for example, we did no-bake recipes. It could
00:53 be following an instruction in a recipe book. It could be following instructions on how
00:58 to tie-dye a t-shirt or a napkin, for example. It could be just picking up a book that's
01:03 lying around at home and looking at the illustrations and having a discussion around those illustrations
01:08 with mum, dad or a carer. It could be going to the local libraries who put on wonderful
01:15 activities for the children during the holidays, such as listening to a story.
01:20 And nearly a quarter of young adults say that they don't know what books to read. Now, a
01:25 new campaign hopes to bridge the gap for young people, offering advice to parents on how
01:30 to motivate kids to pick up a book and giving recommendations for young ones wanting to
01:34 give it a try.
01:35 We also ask parents to perhaps model reading, read to and with the children. And also, another
01:42 great thing, Lauren, is for parents to allow their children to pursue their own interests
01:49 and in so doing, nurture that love of that topic and immerse themselves in reading before
01:54 they know it. One of the books that our children absolutely love is The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
01:58 I grew up on Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew's Sacred Seven, the twins of Mallory Cowes, going on
02:04 to The Roald Dahl, all that sort of thing, The Wimpy Kid, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It's
02:10 endless. I think if you do some Googling, you could find some good reads.
02:14 I definitely noticed in my own social media journey, there's a bit of a trend at the moment
02:21 for book talk, especially on TikTok, that it's becoming increasingly popular to talk
02:25 about what books are trending, sharing reviews and that sort of thing. Do you think that
02:31 sort of has a place for kids as well?
02:33 I certainly do. It's very, very powerful. And whatever gets them motivated to read,
02:38 that's fantastic. And that sparks an interest in a child. Why not? There's a lot of debate
02:43 about e-books and audio books. Obviously, e-books and audio books are convenient and
02:50 accessible. Physical books, however, continue to be a wonderful resource for the children.
02:55 But my opinion is whatever format the children use to read, as long as they could read as
03:01 much as they want, that certainly is good for them.
