Getting back to basics

Literacy key for kids

READING and writing has become another source of parental guilt, with a majority of parents acknowledging that their children don’t spend enough time on these basic skills.

A national poll of 1000 parents and carers, commissioned by News Corp Australia as part of the Addy’s Raise a Reader literacy campaign, found 60 per cent of parents feel guilty about their children not doing enough reading and writing in their spare time, with many blaming the distraction of digital devices.

Almost 70 per cent said it was easier to engage their children with screens than with reading and writing — a result that didn’t surprise Michelle Mowbray of early literacy program Ready to Read.

Ms Mowbray has witnessed a marked decline in fine motor skills among preschool-aged children over the past five years, along with a growing inability to sit still and focus, and attributes the shift to a rise in young children using electronic devices.

“If most kids are given a choice between screen time and reading, screens win every time,” she said. “It’s like lollies versus broccoli — reading doesn’t have the same neurological rewards built in.”

The survey findings follow from the latest UNICEF report card which found Australia trails behind most OECD countries in quality education, scraping in at 39th out of the 41 countries assessed, just ahead of Romania and Turkey.

Despite a growing emphasis on STEM skills in the school curriculum, Professor Frank Oberklaid, director of the Centre for Community Child Health at Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, said reading and writing skills should remain the priority.

“Literacy is the building block of academic success,” he said. “Kids that arrive at school having been exposed to reading are much more likely to know the alphabet and understand that words on the page have meaning.”

Many experts suggest that encouraging children away from their devices and into books starts at birth.

“Babies might not be able to understand the story, but they will look at the pictures and understand that books rep- resent something fun to do,” Prof Oberklaid said.

Modelling positive behaviours is also key.

“If kids see their parents reading, they’re more likely to read,” he said. “If you’re always on your phone, it’s hard to tell your kids they should limit their screen time.”

Prof Oberklaid suggested starting with books that tap into children’s hobbies, before encouraging them to read more widely.