Family Factors Affecting Children's Reading Ability

Abstract

Today, childrens reading ability is seen as an increasingly important personal skill, helping individuals to absorb information and export it as well. While a large number of studies have analyzed the effects of a specific family factor on children's reading ability, few review-type articles have summarized and generalized multiple influences. Thus, this paper analyzes the literature in the past 30 years on family factors that influence children's reading ability from 3 major mediating roles--family socioeconomic status, family cultural environment, and family psychological atmosphere. On this basis, this paper proposes multidimensional practical suggestions, for the family and society regarding the development of children's reading ability, which includes separate advice for children in lower grades and children in higher grades. Effective parent-participate cultural activities may especially work on the development of younger childrens reading comprehension, while the capability of independent reading is essential for children in higher grades. Finally, the author offers an outlook for future researchers.