Are audiobooks good for children?

An audiobook is a story told to a child who is allowed to sit still and listen. That is about as old-fashioned as children’s entertainment gets, which is part of the appeal. The question parents ask is whether it is “proper” reading, and whether it helps or gets in the way. The short version: it helps, as long as you know what it does and does not do.

Are audiobooks good for children?

Yes, for understanding, vocabulary and enjoyment. A useful way to see why is a model reading researchers have relied on since 1986, the “simple view of reading”. It holds that reading comprehension depends on two things: decoding (turning print into words) and language comprehension (understanding those words once you have them).^[1] A child who is weak at either one struggles.

Audiobooks work on the second half. They give children rich, complex language at a level well above what they can decode on their own, which is exactly what builds the understanding they will later bring to print. What they cannot do is the first half. Listening does not teach phonics.

Is listening to an audiobook as good as reading?

For understanding a story, broadly yes. A 2022 meta-analysis of 46 studies and 4,687 participants found no reliable overall difference in comprehension between reading and listening, with reading doing better when people could set their own pace and on harder inference questions.^[2] Those studies covered a range of ages, so they are not a verdict on young children specifically.

Our longer piece on whether audiobooks count as reading goes into the brain-imaging research and the mind-wandering problem.

What are the benefits of audiobooks for kids?

Four stand out, with the evidence for each:

• Interest in reading. In the National Literacy Trust’s 2020 research, 52.9% of children and young people who listened to audiobooks said it had increased their interest in reading.^[3]
• Mood. During the first 2020 lockdown, 31.8% said listening to audiobooks made them feel better.^[3]
• Access. A child who reads slowly, or who has dyslexia, can enjoy the same books as their friends at the level they actually think at.
• Shared stories. A family audiobook in the car or at teatime gives everyone the same plot to argue about.

The caveat: the National Literacy Trust figures are what children reported about themselves, not measured gains, and the research was funded by the Publishers Association.^[3] It tells you how children feel about audiobooks, which matters for reading for pleasure, but it is not a trial.

How many children listen to audiobooks?

Fewer than you might think. At the start of 2020, 1 in 6 (16.3%) UK children and young people said they listened to audiobooks, based on a survey of 58,346 children aged 9 to 18; during the first lockdown that rose to nearly 1 in 4 (23.4%) in a smaller survey of 4,141.^[3] These figures are now several years old, so treat them as a snapshot rather than today’s picture.

Where can kids get free audiobooks in the UK?

From the library, and it costs nothing to borrow. Many UK library services lend e-audiobooks through free apps, most commonly BorrowBox and Libby: you choose your library in the app and sign in with your library card number and PIN. Derbyshire libraries offer both; West Sussex offers Libby (up to 20 e-books or e-audiobooks at a time); Hartlepool offers BorrowBox (up to five e-audiobooks for three weeks).^[4] Services and loan limits vary by council, so check your own library’s website.

In England and Wales, the law stops library authorities charging for lending written material to the people they serve.^[5] That protection is for written material, so the free e-audiobook services above are a council choice rather than a legal right. Many libraries also run free story sessions for younger children; check your library’s events page.

What device is best for kids’ audiobooks?

The one that does the least. A parent’s phone or a tablet will play an audiobook perfectly well, but it also offers every game and video one swipe away. For younger children especially, a dedicated audio player lets them choose and play stories by themselves with no screen at all.

We have already compared the main screen-free options, including card and figure-based players for children and their setup quirks, in our guide to screen-free gadgets. Note that library apps like BorrowBox and Libby run on phones and tablets, so a library audiobook may still need a screen to borrow and start, even if the child then just listens.

Are audiobooks good for toddlers?

They are fine in small doses, but they are no substitute for being read to. For very young children the value of a story lies as much in the lap, the pictures, the pointing and the questions as in the words. A recording cannot pause when a two-year-old wants to talk about the dog on page four.

So for toddlers, think of audio as an extra: songs and short stories in the car, or a familiar tale they can listen to while you cook. Shared picture books stay at the centre. As children get older and can follow a longer plot over several sittings, audiobooks start to earn a bigger place.

How do you get the most out of audiobooks?

Use them as company for the day, not a replacement for reading:

1. Pair listening with the print book now and then, so a child can follow the words and connect the sound to the page.
2. Play them in the gaps: car journeys, washing up, the wind-down before lights out.
3. Let them pick above their reading level. That is the whole advantage.
4. Keep hands busy. Drawing, Lego or a jigsaw while listening suits many children better than sitting still.
5. Talk about the story afterwards. One question at tea (“what would you have done?”) does more than a comprehension worksheet.

What makes a good audiobook for kids?

A good reader matters more than the book’s reputation. Listen to a sample together before borrowing: a narrator your child finds irritating will finish an audiobook faster than any plot hole. For younger listeners, shorter books and short chapters help, because they give natural places to stop. Full-cast recordings with music suit some children and overwhelm others. And a book they already love in print is often the easiest first audiobook, because the familiar story carries them through.

Should audiobooks replace reading practice?

No. A child learning to read still needs time decoding print with someone beside them, because that is the half of reading listening cannot build.^[1] Think of audiobooks as the part of reading that is pure pleasure, which, given how few children now say they enjoy reading, is not a small thing. Our piece on why reading for pleasure matters has the latest figures.