Recent reporting found that about one-third of children entering preschool in a cited 2025 school-readiness survey didn’t know how to handle a physical book properly.

Educators are reporting children having difficulty attending to books. Among barriers parents gave for reading with their children were “my child won’t sit still long enough” (36%) and “my child prefers screen time” (33%).

At the same time, executive-function skills—focusing, remembering instructions, flexible thinking, self-control, planning and completing tasks—are central to school readiness.