Although American children still spend part of their days reading, they are spending less time doing it for pleasure than years ago, with large gaps  in proficiency ,according to a recent report. "It raises an alarm," said Vicky Rideout, the lead author of the report. "We're witnessing a really large drop in reading among teenagers and the speed of that drop is getting faster and faster." The report found that the percentage of nine-year-old children reading for pleasure once or more per week had dropped from 81 percent in 1984 to 76 percent in 2013, based on government studies. About a third of 13-year-olds and almost half of 17-year-olds reported in one study that they read for pleasure less than twice a year. Of those who read or are read to, children often spend on average between 30 minutes and an hour daily with that activity, the report found. Older children and teenagers tend  to read for pleasure for an equally long time each day. Rideout warned that there may be differences in how people come across texts and the included studies may not take into account stories read on line or on social media. The report also found that many young children are struggling with literacy . Only about one-third of fourth grade students are "proficient" in reading and another one-third scored below "basic" in reading skills. Despite the large percentage of children with below-basic reading skills, reading scores among young children have improved since the 1970s, according to one test that measures reading ability. The reading scores among 17-year-olds, however, reminded relatively unchanged since the 1790s. About 46 percent of white children are considered "proficient" in reading, compared with 18 percent of black children and 20 percent of Hispanic kids. Those gap remained relatively unchanged over the past 20 years, according to the report. "To go 20 years with no progress in that area is shameful", Rideout said. The report stresses some behaviors that have been tied to children being more frequent readers. Those behaviors include parents setting aside time to read with their children and parents reading themselves to model good behavior. To make children frequent readers, parents should   _  .
improve their reading skills. read as many books as possible. set a good example to their children. spend more time with their children.