More parents reading to their children

by David Safier

If this is accurate, it's a positive sign. An Education Week article (subscription only) says parents are reading more with their young children, having more "just for fun" conversations, playing and eating dinner with them more. This trend appears to be most pronounced with low income parents, compared to similar activities in 1998.

If true, this kind of parent-child interaction will undoubtedly have a small but significant effect on children's attitudes toward school and their overall achievement. I would hope even the conservative it's-all-about-the-schools crowd agrees that educational encouragement and stimulation at home is a prime factor in children's educations.

Even if the data isn't entirely accurate — even if parents are just saying what they think others want to hear — a boost in the understanding of the importance of these activities by the parents is important. If it's getting though that parents need to talk to their children more (the number and variety of words low income children hear directed toward them is far lower than in middle and high income homes), read to children more and just generally give them more positive attention, that understanding will lead to some improvements in the way the parents interact with their children.