NEWS Early Words/Premiers mots is growing! If your clinic or hospital would like to be part of the program, which includes resources and training to bring early literacy into your practice, find out more!
More than one million children in Canada are estimated to have below grade-level reading skills (Source: Deloitte LLP. An Economic Overview of Children's Literacy in Canada) See more facts & figures
27% of kids start Grade 1 without some of the early developmental skills they need to be able to learn to read. (Source: Early Development Instrument) See more facts & figures
Children in low socioeconomic communities are almost 2× as likely to be behind in early development skills as high-socioeconomic status peers (Source: Pan-Canadian Public Health Network) See more facts & figures
A one per cent increase in adult literacy would create an economic benefit of $67 billion gross domestic product for Canada per year (Source: Deloitte LLP. An Economic Overview of Children's Literacy in Canada) See more facts & figures
Investing in pre-school education has a much higher rate of return than investments made in later years of a child’s education, or in adulthood. (Source: Deloitte LLP. An Economic Overview of Children's Literacy in Canada) See more facts & figures
Approximately 25 per cent of Grade 3 children in Canada are not reading at grade level. (Source: Deloitte analysis using EQAO and PISA data) See more facts & figures
Pandemic disruptions in children’s learning are forecast to cause a 30% increase in socioeconomic skills gaps (Source: Research Group on Human Capital and Department of Economics, School of Management, Université du Québec à Montréal) See more facts & figures
13.8% of Canadian Grade 10 students do not have the baseline level of reading skills needed to navigate in our society, according to a recent international study from the OECD. (Source: PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment)) See more facts & figures
Reading for fun can lead to many emotional benefits Research shows that children who read for fun have greater levels of imagination, focus, relaxation and mood regulation. (Source: The Reading Agency. “The Impact of Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment”) See more facts & figures
Literacy levels and income are strongly linked. Research shows that people with more literacy skills earn more money over time. (Source: Insights on Canadian Society, Statistics Canada: “The association between skills and low income.”) See more facts & figures
Reading can increase social well-being. Reading for pleasure can create a greater sense of community, a stronger feeling of social inclusion, a stronger ability to enjoy social occasions, and enhanced openness and talkativeness. (Source: The Reading Agency. “The Impact of Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment”) See more facts & figures
Canada scores 18th in a global ranking of Grade 4 readers. This is a significant drop from its previous score of 12th, as part of a longer downward trend. (Source: Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)) See more facts & figures
It’s predicted that children who are read to at least once a day will hear 290,000 more words by age 5 than those who aren’t read to by a parent or caregiver. (Source: Ohio State University, “When Children Are Not Read to At Home: Million Word Gap”) See more facts & figures
Research suggests that 90% of a child’s brain is developed by age five, before many children have access to formal education. (Source: First Things First. (2019). “Why Early Childhood Matters: Brain Development.” ) See more facts & figures
Babies can recognize distinctive sounds of their mother’s language shortly after birth. At four and half months, infants show recognition of their own name. (Source: Pacific Lutheran University: “Language experienced in utero affects vowel perception after birth: a two-country study“) See more facts & figures
Regular reading with children increases children’s enjoyment of sharing books and joining in songs and rhymes. (Source: University of Alberta: “Handbook of Language and Literacy Development: A Roadmap from 0 to 60 Months”) See more facts & figures
Increased exposure to books and vocabulary leads to significant increase in school preparedness. (Source: National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), Rutgers University) See more facts & figures
Reading for pleasure makes you happier. Reading for fun can increase empathy, improve relationships with others, reduce the symptoms of depression and improve wellbeing throughout life. (Source: The Reading Agency. “The Impact of Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment” See more facts & figures