Reading to young children regularly can lay the foundation for future literacy and educational success. Parents of children aged 0-5 were asked whether their children were read to every day in the week before the survey. A total of 47.8 percent of children in this age group are read to (by a parent or other caregiver) every day.

The likelihood that young children are read to every day rises with the education level of their parents. Of children of parents with less than a high school education, 30.6 percent are read to every day, as are 39.2 percent of children whose parents have a high school diploma. Of children of parents with more than a high school education, more than half (53.5 percent) were read to every day.

The rate of reading to young children also rises with income. Just over one-third (36.4 percent) of children with family incomes below the poverty level are read to every day, compared to 43.6 percent of children with family incomes between 100 and 199 percent of poverty. Of children with family incomes between 200 and 399 percent of FPL, half (50.1 percent) are read to every day, as are 58.9 percent of children in higher-income families.

Families in different racial and ethnic groups also differ in the likelihood of reading to their young children. More than half of White (55.0 percent) and multiracial children (51.8 percent) are read to every day, compared to 38.1 percent of Black children, 33.4 percent of Hispanic children, and 46.4 percent of children of other races.

Young children who live with both of their biological or adoptive parents are more likely to be read to than those with other family structures. Of children who live with both parents, 50.2 percent are read to every day, compared to 43.0 percent of children who live in a two-parent step-family and 41.1 percent of children who live with single mothers.