Book-gifting gets families reading

Early book-gifting shapes reading habits for years

The Finnish Reading Center has been monitoring the impact of the book bag program from the beginning. Now that the program is in its sixth year, we’ve been able to study its long-term impacts.

According to the parents who responded to our survey, the book bag they received when their child was a baby has had a positive impact on their child’s reading habits years later.

The book bags establish a reading routine

Owning books has proven to be crucial in starting to read with babies. The book bags, put together by experts, have been especially effective in families where parents would not have read to their children otherwise.

Of those who received a book bag, 91 % said they read to their children several times a week, while only 83% of the other respondents said they did so.

Having a book bag halves the number of parents who don’t read much to their children: Of those who received a book bag, 8 % read just once a week to their children, and among others it’s 16 %.

The book bags have enabled early reading for five age groups. Book bags were ordered for 93% of babies born between 2019-2024. The cost of a state-funded book bag is €7 per child.

Information about the importance of reading belongs to everyone

99 % of public health nurses think it is important to discuss the importance of reading with families at maternal and child health care clinics. 96 % said they always remind families of the importance of reading.

According to the survey, time spent reading with children, or families’ reading habits, were most influenced by news about the benefits of reading (43 %) and reminders from the maternal and child health care clinics about the importance of reading (41 %).

100 % of maternal and child health care clinic professionals want to continue distributing the book bags.

“With books as a gift, it’s easy and fun to bring up reading and talk about how families can incorporate it into their daily lives and make it a part of their routine. Most families are really happy about the book bags”, said a public health nurse answering the survey.

Other Key Figures from the Survey

• 64 % of parents of 3-4-year-olds say their child’s growing interest in books and reading stems from the time they spent reading together during their baby’s first year of life.
• 54 % of parents with five-year-olds share the view.
• 63 % of parents who received a book bag say the book bag has increased reading in their family.
• 26 % of the respondents started reading aloud thanks to the book bag.
• 37 % of respondents started reading more after receiving a book bag.

Source: The Finnish Reading Center’s 2025 impact survey.
For more information, contact Emmi Jäkkö, executive director, emmi.jakko@lukukeskus.fi.