A new initiative from the United States to encourage fathers to spend time reading with their children every day is paying handsome educational dividends, as Jeremy Davies explains
“When I see my children at the weekend, they say, ‘We don’t want to go to McDonald’s – can we read stories instead?’” So says a father at Jubilee Primary School in the south London suburb of Tulse Hill, when asked how he has been affected by Fathers Reading Every Day – or Fred, as the supported-reading programme now on offer in schools and early years centres across four English local authorities is known.Many of us remember reading with our fathers when we were young, but these days this happens less than one might hope. Studies suggest that around a third of fa
26 October 2013, The Tablet
Once upon a time …
Tablet Education
Get Instant Access
Continue Reading
Register for free to read this article in full
Subscribe for unlimited access
From just £30 quarterly
Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
The full weekly edition in print and digital including our 179 years archive.
PDF version to view on iPad, iPhone or computer.
Already a subscriber? Login
User Comments (3)
I wonder whether there should be a phasing in of the reduction in benefits because some families are going to feel the decrease greatly. I do think a cap is good though and I also support the limit of 2 children.
Working couples have to make hard decisions with regard to the size of their families and if not in social housing can't just apply for a bigger house or more benefits. Benefits mustn't be limitless. The country cannot sustain them.
Dear Sir
Is this proposal not discriminatory to Catholics who are extolled not to use artificial forms of birth control, and may not therefore be able to limit their families to two children?
I think it would be important to reflect whether this proposal would have been considered if other religious denominations were similarly affected.
I m rather surprised that there have been no specific comments about this from leaders in the church.
Speaking in May 1982, St. John Paul 11 urged British politicians: ‘Allow the voice of the family to be heard in the making of your policies. The future of your society, the future of humanity, passes by the way of the family.’ Is it not ironic that Irish politicians, while presently ignoring both the natural moral law and the Pope, now also follow London’s lead in promoting social and economic conditions, which serve only to undermine the strength and stability of marriage and family life? The same Pope, on leaving Ireland in 1979 told us: 'Nothing in life is more important than to be a good father and mother...The family is the true measure of the greatness of a nation, just as the dignity of man is the true measure of civilisation.'