40% of Brits read just ONE book per year. But is it harming the next generation of readers?

As children around the country lace back up their school shoes, a new study has revealed that Brits aren’t the fondest of readers, with almost 40% of the country reading fewer than two books per year.

The study, in which leading bookseller The Works surveyed the nation, looked to analyse the trends between a parent’s relationship with books and what impact it has on their own children.

Of the 39% of adults that no longer read books, 16% of the total study had given up on books completely, but thankfully the vast majority of those are still introducing reading to their children from a young age, with only 16% having yet to start reading to their child or leaving it until they were over the age of three.

Across the nation, parents are largely reading to their children from a young age, with it having a significant impact on children once they reach school and start learning. A total of 44% of children are being read to from birth, with a further 27% of parents starting to read to their children before the age of two.

Lisa Lort-Johnson, Head of Buying at The Works, said, “Reading supports a child’s early years from an education perspective, giving them the foundation to build on when starting school.”

“The reality is when you start to read a good book it’s pure escapism that opens up a child’s imagination to experience a manner of different things, as well as developing the skillsets that reading provides.”

Parents that do read more frequently – a total of 35% of the population read more than six books per year – are more likely to read to their child from birth with a total of 60% doing so from birth and a further 24% before the age of two, effectively giving their child a better start for when they do start learning once they hit that first day in school.

The study also explored what parents are most likely to read to their children, with The Gruffalo the big standout with one in eight children having the iconic Julia Donaldson title read to them as their very first book.