I Asked My Students If Their Parents Read To Them; Their Responses Broke My Heart

“My dad doesn’t read to me because he said it’s boring.”

I’ll never forget those words coming out of my student’s mouth one day—or the way they hit me. Because they hurt.

Later that same day, I asked my class of 22 students, “How many of you have parents who read to you at night?”

Only four hands went up.

Four.

How heartbreaking.

Not only are these students missing out on critical language development skills, but they’re also missing the connection that happens when someone reads to you.

The routine. The closeness. The small but powerful moments of communication—when a child asks a question, and an adult takes the time to answer. That’s relationship-building. That’s love in action.

And then there’s the language development. The words they’ll never hear. The ideas they’ll never be introduced to. The empathy they’ll never fully develop. The focus and imagination that might never be sparked because the opportunity simply wasn’t there.

When we take away that experience, we don’t just lose stories—we lose the spark that creates lifelong readers, learners, and dreamers.

Now more than ever, we need to teach our children the magic of reading. We need to show them that it’s not boring—it’s transformative.

Because one day, those children will grow up and have kids of their own.

And when a teacher asks their children, “Does someone read to you at night?”
What will their answer be?

Originally published on the author’s blog