Key takeaways for healthcare providers
- The participation of fathers in the shared reading of books makes an important and unique contribution to children’s development.
- Fathers can successfully and effectively read with their children regardless of their own reading ability or confidence in reading aloud.
- Fathers who view collaborative reading as part of their parental responsibility and as an opportunity to bond with their children are more likely to participate in collaborative reading activities.
What is shared book reading?
Read shared book occurs when an adult—usually a family member or caregiver—reads to and with a child. This is a common practice for many families around the world. Reading books together is important for many reasons: it introduces young children to concepts such as book orientation and reading direction, promotes a range of early language and reading skills in children, and helps develop positive relationships between caregivers and children.
Reading books together is extremely important for children’s development
The types of language exchanges that take place during collaborative reading tend to be more sophisticated than those that take place in everyday conversations between children and adults. In addition, the text in books used during book reading together introduces children to new vocabulary words beyond what they usually hear in their daily lives.
Parents also tend to interact differently with their children while reading books together than they do with other types of activities, such as physical play or pretend play. Specifically for father-child interactions, research shows that the diversity of fathers’ vocabulary, number of questions asked and length of spoken sentences is greater during collaborative reading than during toy play (Salo et al., 2016). This positions collaborative book reading as a key activity that fathers can undertake and that promotes children’s development in many areas.
Fathers interact positively with children while reading books together
In recent decades, fathers’ participation in a variety of activities with their children has increased, including reading books together. While some fathers and mothers tend to read books with their children in similar ways, research has shown that fathers interact with their children differently than mothers do when reading with their children (Cutler & Palkovitz, 2020). In particular, fathers ask children more open-ended questions (who, why) – a practice that challenges children’s thinking and enhances their language skills (Rowe et al., 2004). Fathers also engage in more conversationally challenging interactions with their children while reading books together than mothers (Anderson et al., 2004; Tomasello et al., 1990).
Photo: RODNAE Productions. Pexels.
Physical interactions also differ during reading. Recent research has shown that fathers are more likely than mothers to have close, interlocking contact while reading with their children, a behavior that promotes a positive reading experience between parents and children (Cutler, 2020).
What fathers say and do while reading books together is important for children’s development
Both the quantity and quality of father-child exchanges during co-reading of books predict children’s language and reading skills, and influence what children say and understand. For example fathers linguistic complexity (the types of vocabulary used, how many words are spoken in total) is positively associated with that of children expressive language (what they say; Rowe et al., 2004; Tomasello et al., 1990). The participation of fathers in the joint reading of books also positively influences that of children receptive language skills (what they understand about spoken language; Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2004).
Language input
In addition, fathers’ language input while reading books to their children is related to children’s overall academic performance. Children whose fathers often participated in collaborative book reading activities at age two had more advanced social-emotional skills and higher reading and math scores in kindergarten than children whose fathers read with them less often (Baker, 2013). In addition, fathers’ involvement in co-reading books is positively associated with children’s attention skills and ability to regulate emotions, especially for boys (Malin et al., 2014).
Why are fathers less likely than mothers to read to children?
But despite the important contributions fathers make to their children’s development by reading books together, they are less likely than mothers to read consistently with their children or to be the main reader in the household. However, this gap has narrowed in recent decades as fathers have increased their overall level of participation in their children’s lives.
Both the quantity and quality of father-child exchanges during co-reading of books predict children’s language and reading skills, and influence what children say and understand.
For some families in the US, a positive outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the increase in family participation in reading activities, including between fathers and their children (Carlson et al., 2022; Mayol-García, 2022). Maintaining higher levels of father participation in book reading together can have both short and long term positive effects on children, families and communities. What factors could influence the continuation of these trends?
Factors predicting fathers’ participation in co-reading of books
Many factors influence how often fathers read with their children, including family ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds. Cultures around the world have differing views on the role of parents and family caregivers in supporting the language and literacy development of young children. While co-reading of books by parents and children is common in many countries, not all cultures favor co-reading as the primary way to engage children in literacy activities.
For example, some Hispanic and Native American families consider oral storytelling more important than or as important as reading books with their children (Janes & Kermani, 2001; Nelson-Strouts & Gillispie, 2017). Such practices benefit children’s development and can be regarded as additional activities that fathers can participate in with their children.
![read a book with dad](https://childandfamilyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/pexels-karolina-grabowska-7946400.jpg 1280w, https://childandfamilyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/pexels-karolina-grabowska-7946400-300x200.jpg 300w, https://childandfamilyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/pexels-karolina-grabowska-7946400-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://childandfamilyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/pexels-karolina-grabowska-7946400-768x512.jpg 768w, https://childandfamilyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/pexels-karolina-grabowska-7946400-356x237.jpg 356w, https://childandfamilyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/pexels-karolina-grabowska-7946400-700x466.jpg 700w, https://childandfamilyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/pexels-karolina-grabowska-7946400-50x33.jpg 50w)
Photo: Karolina Grabowska. Pexels.
Father’s views on parenting roles
The father’s views on their parental role and responsibilities also play a role. Fathers who regard joint reading as part of their parental responsibility or whose partner expects them to read with their children are more likely to do so (Ortiz, 2004; Swain et al., 2017). Fathers’ overall level of involvement with their children is also related to the likelihood that they will read with them. It makes sense that fathers who are highly involved and available to their children are more likely to read with them.
In addition, fathers’ personal experiences with reading influence how often they read with their children. Fathers who are confident in reading, who enjoy reading themselves, and who have had positive experiences with reading, either at home or at school (or both), are more likely to participate in collaborative reading activities with their children than fathers who have not had such experiences (Duursma et al., 2008; Ortiz, 2004).
The types of books available
The type of books available during co-reading and fathers’ perceptions of the purpose of shared reading experiences may also influence how often they engage in this activity. Some fathers feel more comfortable reading informational or non-fiction books than reading fiction books with their children (Robertson & Reese, 2017). The availability of books in fathers’ native language at home also influences the likelihood that they will read with their children. Fathers who are low literate or who speak a different mother tongue than their children are less likely to participate in shared book reading (Duursma et al., 2008; Ortiz, 2004).
All fathers can read a book together, regardless of their reading skills or familiarity with reading aloud
Attitudes are also important. Sitting close to or holding a child while relaxing and sharing books together is often seen as a time of emotional connection between parents and children. Fathers who see reading a book together as an opportunity to spend time with and bond with their children are more likely to participate than fathers who see the experience as a task or as a way to teach their children a lesson ( Bus & van IJzendoorn, 1992; Janes & Kermani, 2001).
Conclusion
By reading with their children, fathers can support children’s development while fostering positive father-child relationships. Many fathers around the world recognize the importance of reading books together. However, the pace at which fathers read with their children lags behind that of mothers.
Highlighting the unique contributions fathers make to children’s development through reading is an important consideration for programs and policies designed to support families and communities. It is also important to support fathers who are hesitant to read with their children or feel less confident about reading.
All fathers can read a book together, regardless of their reading skills or familiarity with reading aloud. Here are suggestions to ensure that all fathers feel supported when reading books together.
Considerations for fatherhood programs and family literacy initiatives
- Normalize and promote the joint reading of books by father and child as an important activity for fathers.
- Emphasize the unique contributions fathers make to their children’s development through collaborative reading.
- Focus on the general interest of sharing books and not on being a “perfect” reader. (For example, encourage the idea that stories can be shared without reading every word on the page.)
- Make sure fathers appear in messages and marketing materials promoting family literacy activities.
- Select books to share that are of interest to a wide range of fathers and that take into account the different reading skills of adult readers, such as books in which fathers interact with their children in a positive way, bilingual books, and picture books without words.
- Offer books that portray fathers from different racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, as well as fathers from different family constellations (single fathers, same-sex fathers, related fathers, stepfathers).