Multi-million bid to encourage parents to read to kids

The South Australian Government has unveiled a multi-million dollar campaign in a bid to remind parents of the critical importance of reading to their children, particularly during the early years of development.

Nearly a quarter of children in South Australia commence school with developmental vulnerabilities.

The 'Words Grow Minds' campaign aims to reduce this figure over the next two decades and the $4 million investment includes the distribution of 21,000 free book packs, along with practical tips and resources for caregivers and childcare centres.

"We found in our research that increases in screen time was leading to decreases in the number of words parents spoke to their children," said Dr Mary Brushe from the research institute Telethon Kids.

The rollout comes ahead of NAPLAN testing, which begins today, with more calls for funding amid recent results showing SA schools were falling behind those in the eastern states.

"We're focussing on the heavy duty literacy and numeracy part of the picture but we're also doing things to improve the well being of the child and student doing the NAPLAN test," said state education minister Blair Boyer.

This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.