You may think that the U.S. Census merely counts people. Interestingly, it also collects behavioral information. For example, questions on the 2009 Survey of Income and Participation asked questions about television habits and rules, family dinners, and reading with children, among many others. The recently released data suggests that parents are spending more time with their children than they were ten years ago, and the interactions are of the high quality that researchers like to see in child development.

This data shows that parents, including lower-income parents, are reading with their children, playing with them, and eating dinner with them more frequently than was reported in the previous census. Educators are encouraged by this news, as parent involvement is crucial to success in school.

Reading to and with children is one of the most influential factors in their future reading success. At Learning A-Z, one of our most important goals is to provide affordable and developmentally appropriate reading materials for children to take home and read with their parents.

The census report's finding is heartening news. I hope that in some small way, we at Learning A-Z are contributing to the high-quality interactions between parents and children.