Shared book reading: a Norwegian survey of reading practices in families

Abstract

Access to books and a rich language environment at home are important for children’s language development. In this study we explored self-reported reading practices in families in Norway (N = 1001) to gain insight into the reading habits parents have with their young children, and the factors that best explain book reading in Norwegian homes. By investigating relationships between how many books parents reported reading with their child last week, demographic factors, and orientational variables, we found that book reading is better explained by orientational factors – such as children’s interest in books and having reading routines in the home – than by demographic factors (such as parents’ educational level). The proportion of parents reporting reading no books, or only one book with their child in the last week was unexpectedly large (33%). The implication of these findings for the culture of reading in Norwegian homes is discussed.