Not reading or playing.

According to research conducted by the National Literacy Trust involving 3,000 parents across the country a staggering 50 per cent of parents - with children under the age of six - do not play with them, every day. This is a dramatic change since 2019 when nearly three quarters of parents - reported as playing with their children on a daily basis. So in the space of 7 years a change of dramatic proportion has occurred. What’s going on? Some have suggested this societal change is caused by a number of important factors: parents are increasingly exhausted in juggling, work, family life and sometimes having to care for elderly or sick parents, the increasing number of children with complex emotional and physical problems, family breakdown, divorce and blended families, more and more children and adults are - spending more screen time, plus increasing numbers of children are in a child care setting and not getting personal attention. Eleven per cent of parents said they played with their under-sixes only once or twice a week. Two years old children watched TV, videos or other digital content on a daily basis and moreover parents are not reading to them. Needless to say this cumulatively - has an impact on their intellectual and emotional development. What problems are we going to have in the future - should this malaise continue?