This parenting tradition is dying with Gen Z — and it’s harming their kids

Gen Zzzzs want to put this precious parenting pastime to bed. 

Snuggling up under a kiddo’s comforter to read the little one a bedtime story is a total snooze-fest for moms and dads in their early 20s, according to a new study on the steep decline of children’s interest in books. 

Zoomers simply don’t consider reading fairy tales and nursery rhymes a “fun” time. 

Sorry, “Snow White” — hi-ho, hi-ho, back on the shelf you go. 

“Despite reading aloud to children being a proven way to boost their enjoyment of reading, the number of parents reading aloud to children is at an all-time low,” wrote researchers for publishing company HarperCollins UK, in collaboration with NielsenIQ BookData, a consumer intelligence firm.

“This is particularly pronounced among Gen Z parents, where almost one in three (28%) see reading as [more of a] ‘subject to learn,’” said study authors, who polled approximately 2,000 adults across all age demographics for their findings. “As the first generation to grow up with technology, Gen Z parents may turn to digital entertainment for fun rather than books.”

But instead of defaulting to their devices, it might be time for mothers and fathers to read the writing on the wall. 

Recent results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) — a test administered to fourth and eighth graders — showed at least a third of America’s students failed to demonstrate “basic” reading skills expected for their age group.

Experts blame the “heartbreaking” slump on the post-pandemic shift away from foundational learning — fundamental concepts such as literacy and numeracy — both in schools and at home. 

But Gen Zers aren’t the only guys guilty of skipping story-time. 

The HarperCollins UK report revealed that only 40% of all parents, including millennials and Gen Xers, said reading aloud to kids is “fun for me.”

It’s not that modern moms and dads are lazy. They’re just too busy. 

“Parents face increasing pressures, with 34% of parents of 0 to 13s wishing they had more time to read to their children,” researchers determined, adding that 49% of folks feel their broods “have too much schoolwork to read books.”

Still, shelving bedtime books is taking a toll on infants, tikes and tweens — especially little lads. 

“Fewer than half (41%) of 0 to 4-year-olds are read to frequently, a steep decline from 64% in 2012,” investigators warned. 

“Boys and girls are treated differently, with only 29% of 0 to 2-year-old boys read to ‘every day/nearly every day’, compared to 44% of girls in the same age group,” noted the insiders. “The crisis in boys reading for pleasure continues from infancy to adolescence, as only 12% of 12 to 13-year-old boys read for fun.”

However, across both genders, 29% of children ages 5 to 13 find reading to be educational rather than enjoyable. It’s a  slight, yet disrupting an uptick from the 25%  of youngsters who felt the same way in 2022. 

“This growing association of reading with pressure rather than pleasure is contributing to disengagement,” the analysts said.  

But all hope isn’t lost, says lead study author Allison David. 

“Being read to makes reading fun for children. So, it’s very concerning that many children are growing up without a happy reading culture at home,” David, the consumer insight director at HarperCollins Children’s Books, said in a statement. 

“It means they are more likely to associate reading with schoolwork, something they are tested on and can do well or badly, not something they could enjoy,” she continued. 

“The good news is when children are read to frequently, they very quickly come to love it and become motivated to read themselves,” David noted. “Children who are read to daily are almost three times as likely to choose to read independently compared to children who are only read to weekly at home.”

A previous poll via digital reading platform, Epic, found that kids who read a lot are happier, more physically active, and have a more active imaginations and even problem-solving skills than their peers who rarely read. 

So, put down that iPhone and pick up that “Pinocchio” pop-up book, mom. 

“It’s never too late to start, or resume, reading with children,” said David.