Play all day!
Published
A serious decline in parents’ engagement with daily activities that support early literacy has been highlighted in new research from the National Literacy Trust and KPMG UK. A survey of 3,000 UK parents of children from birth to five years reveals a steep decline in parents chatting, playing and reading with their young children daily at home. And families living in disadvantaged communities are most badly affected.
The research pinpoints economic pressures on young families, along with gaps in confidence and knowledge, as being one of the main causes of this trend. In 2025, fewer than half (45 per cent) of parents said they read with their child daily, falling 9 per cent since 2024 and a whopping 30 per cent since 2019. Chatting daily remains the most common home learning activity parents engage in with their children (70 per cent) but rates still declined 10 per cent in the past year alone.
Parents living in London and the North West are least likely to chat, play and read with their young children daily. Meanwhile, parents in the South West are most likely to chat daily with their children, those in Yorkshire and Humberside are most likely to play daily with their children, and those in the East Midlands were most likely to read daily with their children .
Parents who said they don’t engage in chatting, playing and reading with their child daily were more likely to be from disadvantaged backgrounds and report lower levels of confidence in taking part in activities with their child and in understanding why the activities are important for supporting language development.
Lack of time, driven by working patterns, was the most cited barrier to parents engaging in daily activities to support literacy, followed by the cost of activities. A fifth of parents also reported lack of local activities, the cost of resources such as books ,and support from family, friends and local professionals.
To address these challenges, the charity’s Early Words Matter campaign aims to ensure that 250,000 children living in disadvantaged areas start primary school with the communication, language and literacy skills they need to learn and thrive.
Collaborating with the National Literacy Trust on its Early Words Matter campaign, a long-term partnership with Macmillan Children’s Books has enabled the charity to use the magic of The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child to engage young families, encouraging language-rich interactions at home.
The charity also offers a wide range of free, easy and accessible resources for parents, carers and families to support young children’s early language development:
Early Words Matter: simple tips to help parents embed chatting, playing and reading into daily routines.
Best Start in Life: free and fun activities to help families enjoy little moments together throughout their day that help to build early learning and language.
National Year of Reading: a new digital booklet packed with simple ways for families to look at books and share stories with their children.
Visit literarytrust.org.uk
