Reading literacy in the UK: 1 in 11 disadvantaged children say they don’t own a book

Literacy is a primary concern in all the countries around the world because it greatly affects the whole population. It is the foundation of every person, how well they do in school, later on in their careers, their quality of life, and life, in general, is predicted by their literacy level. There are no wonder countries are working hard to improve the literacy of their people, because to put it simply, literacy affects the economy. 

The more literate the person becomes, the more likely he is to land a better job with higher pay. Thus, he is positively affecting the economy of the country. Reading is an essential part of literacy. In fact, a person is held back by a lack of essential reading skills at every stage of their life. They won’t be able to succeed academically as a child, won’t be able to find employment as a young adult, and won’t be able to fund their own child’s education as a parent. Moreover, low-literacy individuals might not be able to read a book or a newspaper, comprehend price tags or road signs, comprehend a bus or train schedule, fill out a form, read medication instructions, or use the internet (National Literacy Trust). 

Low literacy is a cause of concern, in fact, one study shows that low literacy rates reduce the UK’s ability to compete economically, costing the government £2.5 billion annually (KPMG, 2009). Something just has to be done. 

Research by the National Literacy Trust in 2019 showed that 1 in 11 disadvantaged children do not even own a book! In the same study, they also found out that children that have their own book are six times more likely to read above their expected reading level and they are three times more likely to enjoy reading. 

Furthermore, the study also found out that 383,755 children and young people in the UK don’t have a book of their own and the majority of them are disadvantaged children. 

Reading is a scientifically proven method of improving one’s literacy. And recently, the National Literacy Trust came up with a brilliant project which aims to improve literacy among children through reading. The project is called “the gift of reading Christmas campaign”, the goal of the project is to give the gift of reading to disadvantaged children across the UK. 

Reading literacy in the UK: Why you should gift a Super Personalised Book 

Growing a love for reading is one of the best gifts you can give to a child. It does not only affect them short-term, once they establish a love for reading, especially at a young age, but they are also better prepared to face the world. 

Some of the benefits of reading include: 

• Development of the child’s brain- the child’s brain cells are stimulated the more they read and it builds more connections 
• Contribute to Academic Success- Early reading benefits the child in many ways, it increases their general knowledge, develops a wider vocabulary, improves fluency in reading, and enhances their attention span 
• Psychological Benefits- Aside from academic advantages, reading also has psychological advantages. In fact, children who read are more likely to be more emotionally intelligent and more resilient 
• Develops communication through speaking and writing- another advantage of reading is that it actually develops the child’s language and communication. More exposure to reading improves the child’s spelling, grammar, writing, and oral communication 

Personalised books are the best books to start your child’s reading journey with, even reluctant readers would love them. A Super Personalised Book has super personalised elements that your child can relate to. In fact, a study by the National Literacy Trust even found that the personalisation of reading materials improves comprehension in children. This suggests that children are more likely to read books that they can relate to. 

Some children may not like the idea of reading because they find the reading material uninteresting and would, later on, be engaged in personalised books because of their personal relevance to them (Bracken, 1982).

Gifting a Super Personalised Book is like gifting all the benefits of reading to the child, it’s the gift that keeps on giving! Unlike toys that they would only pay attention to for a week or so, the book offers the opportunity for them to become readers. 

Choosing a book for the child can be tricky, you just don’t know what story they can relate to. That’s why a personalised book is the best choice. Every child loves their own personalised book because of the unique experience of seeing themselves as the hero in a published storybook! 

Join the movement to improve literacy in the UK, starting with the children. Gift a personalised book to a child this Christmas, on their birthday, or just because you want them to start their reading journey today.