Cottrell-Boyce, speaking at an event marking the end of his two-year tenure, said the UK faces a crisis in children's development linked to poverty, housing insecurity, isolation, and erosion of local services. He argued that evidence shows children have an appetite to read but families need more support. The author stressed that the decline in shared reading is not due to a lack of interest from children, but rather a lack of support for families, who are increasingly struggling to make reading part of daily life.
New research from BookTrust, a reading charity, indicates that daily shared reading among families with children up to eight fell from 60% to 49% between 2021 and 2025. More than a third (36%) of parents or carers worry about their child's screen use, while nearly half (48%) say shared reading encourages their child to spend less time on screens. The survey also found that families are finding it harder to prioritize reading amidst busy schedules and digital distractions.
Working with BookTrust over the last two years as children's laureate has been a hugely rewarding experience.
Despite the decline in shared reading, the proportion of children aged up to eight who like or love reading rose from 66% to 80% over the same period, suggesting a complex relationship between reading enjoyment and family reading habits. This increase indicates that children's intrinsic motivation to read remains strong, even as shared reading opportunities diminish. Cottrell-Boyce's speech took place during the National Year of Reading and marked the end of his tenure as children's laureate.
He revealed his new role as reading rights ambassador for BookTrust and called for more people to join the reading rights movement. He urged everyone to join the movement to ensure that every child has daily access to books and shared reading in their first seven years of life, emphasizing its importance for happiness, mental health, empathy, and future opportunity. Professor Sam Wass, director of the Institute for the Science of Early Years and Youth at the University of East London, supported the call, stating that there is a huge body of scientific evidence showing how shared reading supports children's language development, attention, and wellbeing.
Launching the reading rights campaign is something very close to my heart as I'm truly passionate about making sure the transformative gift of reading is shared with every single child.
We've worked with early learning centres, nurseries, schools and family hubs and the UK Government to make sure children have the best start in life with guidance from midwives, health visitors, early years professionals, families and communities.
I urge everyone to join our movement to ensure that every child has daily access to books and shared reading in their first seven years of life. It's so important for their happiness, mental health, empathy and future opportunity.
There's a huge body of scientific evidence to show how shared reading supports children's language development, attention and wellbeing.