Well, it happens because of the adults that surround them:

Mom, Dad, Aunty and Uncle, Grandma and Grandpa.

Everybody has a part to play.

And I am so often asked, 'What do you want us to do?'

Well I've got some top tips. And they are top tips that all of us can achieve.

Unless you can talk, you will NOT be able to read.

And if you can't read you're not going to love it.

So we have to give children the tools for reading.

Any child that has a wide vocabulary, we know is at an advantage.

So where do you acquire your words and your language?

You acquire it from people talking to you.

You don't acquire it from a screen, you acquire it from human beings.

So from the moment your child is in the womb, and I do mean in the womb

We should be singing enjoying rhymes and talking to our children.

Talk as you walk.

Talk as you do, talk as you cook.

Fill your children with vocabulary and language for later use.

Of course, you'll also be developing their curiosity, their imagination, alongside this.

Where better place to talk, than when you're playing.

And of course we know that research shows us that children who played fared better in life.

They developed as whole human beings.

Play is vital and essential, but of course what play does is encourages you to talk.

In fact, some of my best talking was when I was playing.

Often on my own even. It still encouraged me to talk.

Well, children who read as adults, almost all of them came from homes where other adults read.

So, it's vital that you are the best advert for reading yourself.

Your children have to see you reading, otherwise why would they want to do it?

Now it can be the newspaper they catch you're reading, magazines, the cereal box, books

It's lovely when they know that you read in bed for hours and you couldn't put the light out.

You have to be a role model for reading, because it's infectious. They will catch that bug.

We now know that the single most important activity for giving children a love of reading

is that they were read to aloud regularly.

Sadly we have discovered that almost one in five children

have rarely been read to their moms and dads.

And only one in five parents read regularly.

So there is a lot still to be done.

And, it's got to be a rip-roaring story and it has to be as often as possible.

Sometimes snuggly at nighttime, sometimes in the daytime we're all singing and dancing.

Everyone of us that enjoys being with children has to be a performer

And a performer of stories.

So as often as you can, and when you're in the mood, remember don't do it when you're not in the mood.

Read aloud to your children.

And don't be frightened to make up silly stories.

we have discovered that dads somehow...I don't know why

But they are better than moms.

They are the ones that are in the car making up those silly stories.

But what I guarantee is, if you make up a good story.

Your child, when they're 60,

will remember when mom or dad told them that silly story.

Please make sure that your children have as much access to books and magazines and comics

- Yes, comics are great!

A lot of people think, oh, comics are fantastic!

They're full of action, full of wonderful vocabulary, full of sound effects

Really good for children.

But please make sure your children have access to as much reading material as possible.

We know they can be expensive but there are second hand sales and public libraries

that will lend you up to 12 books at one go.

So make use of those, we're lucky to have those public libraries.