Mothers read aloud more often than fathers

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Time: 4 min

Mothers read aloud more often than fathers

To mark the 5th Swiss Read Aloud Day on 18 May 2022, we spoke to Christine Tresch from the Swiss Institute for Child and Youth Media SIKJM and asked her why fathers read to their children less often than mothers.

Image: zVg/ Kampus Production from Pexels

Interview: Hanna Lauer

The Swiss Institute for Children's and Youth Media SIKJM is organising Swiss Read Aloud Day for the fifth time on 18 May 2022. The national reading promotion initiative has grown steadily in recent years.

Various studies show that it is mainly mothers who read to their children. Fathers are much less likely to pick up books when they want to do an activity with their children. Why is that?

Mrs Tresch, why do fathers read to their children less often than mothers?

Mothers read to their children more often than fathers, as numerous international studies have shown. Mothers are more involved in childcare, spend more time with their children and therefore read to them more. Many fathers believe that it is enough for mothers to read to their children. Another frequently cited reason is that fathers come home late during the week and the children are already in bed. Many fathers, but also mothers, were not read to as children. They therefore do not associate this activity with any emotional memories that they would like to relive with their children. Parents who have not been able to develop a habitual and enjoyable approach to reading themselves are also often reluctant to read aloud.

**Christine Tresch** studied German, English and philosophy and worked as a cultural and literary editor for print media and SRF radio. She has been working at the Swiss Institute for Children's and Youth Media SIKJM since 2003, currently in the areas of literary promotion, teaching and cultural work.

Why do children also need male reading role models?

A lack of reading role models has an impact on children's desire to read and their reading skills. Until the end of primary school, children very often mainly encounter female reading role models. It is therefore particularly important for boys to experience in their everyday lives that men also read (aloud). If fathers experience reading as something that contradicts their image of masculinity, the children will sense this. However, if fathers read aloud regularly, this not only strengthens the emotional closeness between father and child, but also supports the children's self-image of reading. If both mum and dad read aloud, the choice of books is broader and the reading conversations are more varied. In this way, children learn early on that you can read aloud in different ways and talk about stories in different ways.

18 May marks the fifth anniversary of Swiss Read Aloud Day. Are you addressing fathers in particular?

On Read Aloud Day, reading ambassadors are on the road throughout Switzerland. They come from showbiz, sport, the media, film, business ... On the one hand, we make sure that men and women are equally represented among these prominent readers, and on the other hand, reading aloud ambassadors, such as the footballer Tranquillo Barnetta or the actor Max Hubacher this year, can become reading role models for boys in particular. Others take the message of Read Aloud Day back to their companies and in turn motivate their employees to read aloud at home. Finally, we suggest reading aloud books at www.schweizervorlesetag.ch that also appeal to fathers and tell of diverse role models.