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When we think of siblings, we tend to think of the bickering, arguing and fighting between brothers and sisters. But it isn't always like that—as one mom has shown in an Instagram video.
Joy Green, a mom from Texas, posted a clip of her daughter reading to her younger sister after working hard for six months to develop her reading skills. In the clip, the pair are sitting in a chair, turning the pages and enjoying the book together.
"This is the sweetest moment I've been waiting for since I was pregnant with Ever! Sisters reading together has been such a special time of bonding," Green wrote in the caption.
"To be honest, for a while there I wasn't sure if it was going to happen. I felt like Kai was always behind on her reading even though her scores did not reflect it."
Green said she noticed her eldest daughter's reading and writing levels were not on a par with her peers at her new school. But by identifying her learning style and areas to work on, it helped her develop her reading skills—and ultimately be able to read books with her little sister.
Many commenters have highlighted how moving the video is. One said: "So darling! Your girls are so sweet." Another wrote: "My heart is melting!"
In the U.K, new research by the National Literacy Trust, an independent charity, has found that over half (56 percent) of children and young people aged 8 to 18 don't enjoy reading in their free time. Fewer than three in 10 were found to read daily in 2023. Moreover, fewer 40.5 percent boys said they enjoyed reading compared to 45.3 percent of girls.
With support from educators and role models, as well as access to books that represent them and quiet reading spaces, children can learn to love reading and improve their literacy skills, said the National Literacy Trust.
Among U.S. students in 2022, 37 percent of fourth graders and 30 percent of eighth graders scoring below the basic proficiency levels for reading set by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a survey showed. Although the school shutdowns due to COVID-19 were responsible for some of the learning loss, the numbers were only slightly above those recorded prior to the pandemic.
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