News: Parents can't help with reading (Nursery World Magazine)
Published: 11 Oct 07
Parents are struggling to read children stories because they lack basic English, according to a survey by Learndirect, the adult learning organisation.
The survey of 1,000 parents of five to ten year olds found that 23 per cent of parents admitted to making up words or skipping bits when reading to their children.
A third of parents also said they found it difficult to help young children with maths.
Nevertheless, the survey found that reading is the nation’s favourite family pastime, with parents reading to their children on average four times a week for 20 minutes.
To help parents identify any gaps in skills Learndirect has published a free children’s book called Where Did the River Go? By Peter Cody and illustrator Charlotte Firmin, with celebrity parents Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford. The book also has maths and English puzzles to solve to reach the end of the story.
Sally Coady from Learndirect said, “Recent studies have shown there are 26 million adults across the UK who have maths or English needs. Our book has been written to be fun to read, but it also offers adults an opportunity to think about how they can brush up on their maths and English if they need to.”
For a free copy, download a voucher to take to your local Learndirect at www.wheredidtherivergo.co.uk
