Why do some people grow up to be dedicated, tote bag-carrying book readers, while others don’t? Joe Pinkser at the Atlantic takes a closer look at how a love of reading is fostered from a young age, with plenty of help from parents. “It is almost tautological to observe that being a reader sets a child up for academic success, since so much of school is reading,” Pinkser writes. “And that means-to-an-end argument in support of reading says nothing of the many joys it can bring. But even though plenty of people simply don’t enjoy reading (or have trouble enjoying it, possibly because of a learning or attention disorder), it’s a vital skill. It may be dispiriting that people have little, if any, say over many of the predictors of whether they or their children will be readers, but thankfully, there are also a number of other factors that are within people’s control.”
Image credit: Sam Greenhalgh
