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Reports Find That Reading Helps Children’s Well-being. EPIC News, Don’t Miss This!

05.14.21

While Mental health is on the forfront of everyone’s mind, we are looking for ways to boost our childrens well-being; reading maybe one great solution!

A survey finds children spent a lot of their time reading during the pandemic—and it improved their well-being. Here are simple ways to get your little one to want to read too.

By Anna Halkidis

May 12, 2021

CREDIT: ILLUSTRATION BY FRANCESCA SPATOLA; GETTY

Kevin Donahue, Co-Founder of Epic shares of tips to get your kids excited to read!

Allow Children to choose their book of choice. The report shows allowing kids to choose their reading material makes a big difference with 72 percent of them reading more in those instances.
Don’t worry too much about what they decide to pick up. “Don’t panic if they pick graphic novels or books about seemingly frivolous topics—the many benefits of reading are still being achieved and as their reading confidence and enjoyment grows, so will their interests,” adds Donahue.
Encourage reading as a “fun” activity and a part of their routine outside of school. Show your kids how much you love reading too. “Let them catch you reading and talk to them about your favorite books and the memories you have as a kid reading,” say Donahue.

Epic4Kids, is a digital library of resources and education for kids. Epic released the first-of-its-kind report about the reading preferences and habits of kids. Read All About It: A Report on the State of Kids’ Reading Habits and Interests During the Pandemic . Check out their website here, and the report below!

Epic report states, fifty million kids read one billion books on Epic in 2020. One billion books—it’s unbelievable. Kids spent 89% more time reading on Epic compared to 2019, equaling an extra hour of reading each month. And after watching TV, parents say it was the second most popular activity, over going outside, playing video games, arts and crafts and more.

Another thing we loved learning in this report was how it highlighted the importance of allowing kids to pick what they read, with results revealing that 72% of kids read more when they get to choose the material. And it’s a dream for us to see that 82% of parents said their kids were eager to discuss what they read after putting down the book.

And in what was a difficult year, it was great to see what a positive impact reading had on kids, with 69% percent of parents sharing that their kids were happy after they read. The same, however, couldn’t be said for digital activities, like video games or watching TV, with parents saying 29% of kids were anxious, 27% were angry and 20% were sad after they put down the controller or remote. Another plus: three-fourths of parents added that after reading, kids’ behaviors reflected more creativity, curiosity, self-confidence and willingness to try new things.

We’re proud of what Epic has accomplished in 2020. Not only its ability to effectively engage kids in reading, but to spark family conversation, positively impact their emotional well-being and continue learning beyond the platform. Things are looking up for 2021! Read the entire report below:

Read All About It: A Report on the State of Kids’ Reading Habits and Interests During the Pandemic

Learn more about Epic, for your children this Summer! Click here.

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