Childwise survey reveals that 25% never read for pleasure

More than a quarter of children never read for pleasure, according to the Childwise 2021 Monitor Report.

Childwise interviewed almost 2,000 children aged five to 16 for its annual report, and found that even though a quarter said they never read for pleasure, three in 10 girls and a quarter of boys said they read every day. Older boys (aged 11-16) are the lightest readers, with only two in five saying they read at all. Girls aged seven to 10 are the heaviest readers.

“The amount of time [the young people interviewed] spend reading for pleasure has stayed more or less the same over the past year, and the average amount of time spent reading is fairly consistent across the age range, highest among seven to eight-year-olds,” said Childwise research director Simon Leggett. “Girls have always been traditionally bigger readers than boys, across books, magazines, and comics, but that is especially true this year, as the gender gap for reading overall widens.” Reading for pleasure peaks at ages nine and 10, he added.

One in five of the children interviewed said they buy books with their own money, and one in 10 had bought books with their own money in the past month. Three in 10 said they have books bought for them by other people, but this figure has fallen from nearly 50% of children surveyed last year.

Children were also asked about reading online, including blogs and fan fiction; roughly half of the nine to 16-year-olds surveyed said they only read online.