https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/06/quality-child-care-science-math
The study looked at "Children who receive high-quality child care as babies, toddlers and preschoolers..."
So, is the drop in reading and math a direct result of kids not getting high-quality childcare as babies and toddlers? Because I don't even think thay the majority of American parents ever had the means to make that happen outside of the home.
That might be something that only high income families could afford, but I'm not sure if the article reports on whether children from high income families also experienced a drop in reading and math scores.
WFH does seem to indicate that people work longer hours in total.
Without a daily commute or prep time getting ready for the office, and especially during lockdowns when people simply didn't leave their homes, there was significantly more time for non-work related activities.
This is why so many people actually enjoyed the pandemic. They had significant amounts of free time for hobbies, exercise, etc. Bikes even sold out for like a year, because the demand for recreation cycling during the pandemic was at such a high level.
But time with your kids, even for 20 minutes of reading, offers a huge advantage to their development. This can easily be incorporated during bedtime.
In any case, I do still believe that a lack or reduction in reading at home has an impact on these scores, and I do appreciate the thoughtful discussion 🤝