Stories are the most powerful gift you can share with a child.
But sadly, only one in three children are read a story every day. We want to change that.
We are calling on the nation’s grown ups to help us reach a million minutes of storytime shared with children across the nation.
Making a Pledge
How Can I Pledge?
- Let us know how much time you are going to pledge to read with your child each week for the next four weeks.
- Check our ambassadors’ top tips for making storytime fun.
- Sign up to the Dads Make Stories Magic newsletter to get top tips straight into your inbox
- Start reading and sharing stories with the child in your life. It’s amazing how quickly you can get into a routine and your child (and you!) will absolutely love it.
Why Should I Pledge?
- Children who experience the magic of being read a story regularly go on to love reading themselves.
- When children love reading it improves their life chances, emotional wellbeing and creativity. They do better at school too.
When Can I Pledge?
- We’re counting all minutes pledged before 12th July 2023.
- You can pledge anytime until 12th July 2023 and start your four weeks whenever works for you.
Reading Role Models
We believe that dads make stories magic.
Reading for pleasure is in long-term decline with many children seeing reading as a lesson or homework.
Research shows that the best way to encourage a child to read books for fun is to read and share stories with them.
Research also shows that:
- Fewer dads read to their children than mums
- Fewer dads grew up being read to themselves
- Dads are less confident choosing books and reading aloud
This means that girls and boys are missing out on being read to by their dads.
For boys, the lack of a male reading role model has a profound impact on their own interest in and motivation to read for pleasure.
Spending time reading with the children in your life has huge benefits.
It motivates children to read independently and they do better at school, have better mental wellbeing, and strong and happy relationships.
Your Stories
Discover stories from dads across the UK whose lives have been transformed by reading with their children more regularly.
Doing voices and getting into character: Nathan and Lewis share their magical experiences of sharing stories with their babies
“The joy of reading with your children is that it’s such fun and builds an increased bond between father and child.”
Getting creative and being goofy together: how sharing books and stories helped Louie strengthen his bond with his son
Million Minutes Totalometer
Thank you to everyone who has pledged so far.
Keep up-to-date with how many minutes the nation has pledged with our million minutes totalometer.
