Across the world, children who read the most, read the best.  That includes all social levels-rich or poor, urban or suburban.  Among all incomes, the more they read at home, the higher they scored in literacy tests. 

A child needs reading in order to master other subjects.  It’s extremely difficult to do word problems in math if you can’t read the words.  How can you answer the questions in social studies if you can’t read and understand the textbook? 

Reading at home is extremely important.  A child spends 900 hours a year in school and 7800 hours at home.  Reading research shows that children who come from homes with the most print resources- books, magazines, and newspapers- have the highest reading scores. They also use the library more than those with lower scores.

There is a strong connection between over-viewing of TV by children and under-achieving in school. Simply put: those who watch the most TV, know the least. Research shows that up to 10 TV hours a week has no impact on children’s grades, but beyond that the grades decline.