Factors Influencing Caregiver Perceptions of Shared Picture Book Reading Enjoyment with their Young Children

Abstract

The benefits afforded to young children through shared reading are well-documented, but few studies have focused on what contributes to enjoyment of shared reading, especially as it pertains to caregivers’ enjoyment. This study explored child and caregiver enjoyment of shared reading through an online survey. Caregivers named books their 0- to 3-year-old child had recently enjoyed reading with them and gave information about their experience, including a rating of how much they and their child enjoyed each book. Variables about the children, caregivers, and the reading experience were analyzed to better understand what promotes enjoyment of shared reading. Child and caregiver enjoyment, while related, were not equal and were not influenced by the same factors. Children’s enjoyment is related to their own characteristics and their caregiver’s enjoyment, whereas caregiver enjoyment is related to their scaffolding of the reading to best suit their child’s abilities and the characteristics of the reading environment.

Keywords:

• Early childhood
• parent-child interactions
• picture books
• shared reading

Acknowledgments

Special thanks are extended to Cheryl Stuntz for her feedback on this article and to my family and colleagues for their support throughout this project.

Disclosure Statement

This author declares no conflicts of interest in the execution of this study and its publication.

Data Availability Statement

The participants of this study did not give written consent for their data to be shared publicly, so due to the sensitive nature of the research supporting data is not available.