By reading a variety of books, magazines, and newspapers, students are exposed to complex vocabulary, and reading becomes an excellent opportunity to learn new words. … Given the importance of reading for the lexical development of school-age children and adolescents, reading should be promoted as a leisure activity during these years. Language Speak Listen Serv Sch. 2005

Literacy is vital for language development. It seems quite obvious, but it is something that we can sometimes forget. Parents of children who don’t like to read are passionate about their reading “good books.” A group of researchers at the University of Oregon recently investigated what older children and young teens like to read, and what else they like to do.

The results were not particularly surprising. Music and television, sports and video games were the most popular hobbies, while reading felt somewhere in the middle. Magazines were preferred to novels, and comics were also popular. More importantly, reading time decreased as the children grew older. This has broad implications for language development in adolescents. Sure, you can probably “speak very well” at fifteen, but at that age, English writing tasks become increasingly complex, job interviews are starting, and comprehension becomes much more technically demanding as you students are asked to assimilate technical data from science and mathematics. from multiple sources.

In the authors’ opinion, speech pathologists should use student preferences to allow them to continue leisure reading, in whatever form. Why do I have multiple magazine subscriptions as an adult, but had to go out and buy my favorite comics at the newsstand as a kid? I hope I can keep all this in mind when my children reduce their reading habit.

Resources: “Literacy as a Leisure Activity: Leisure Time Preferences of Older Children and Young Adolescents.” – Nippold MA, Duthie JK, Larsen J