Children 'more likely to own phones'

Over in the UK, children "as young as seven are more likely to own a mobile phone than a book," a new study shows.

A report from the National Literacy Trust said: “Simple interactions, such as being read to, and exposure to books, magazines, newspapers and environmental print, impact children’s progress in learning to read, and children who come from richer home literacy environments show higher levels of reading knowledge and skills at the start of kindergarten and throughout primary school.

“There is also ample evidence that parents who promote reading as a valuable and worthwhile activity have children who are motivated to read for pleasure."

Elliott Vanskike will be happy to hear this last bit. He recently wrote an essay about teaching his twins to recite Robert Frost in and effort to turn them into poetry imps.