The decline of small pleasures

Straight Goods has The decline of small pleasures, an interesting look at how much reading children are doing these days. Statscan reported that well-off parents read to their children an average of four minutes a day, although they manage to squeeze in 82 minutes of TV-watching. The books kids are reading illustrate the reformulation of childhood into little more than preparation for “real life,” which has become synonymous with adulthood.