There's no strict official number, and that's actually useful to know — it means you don't need to hit a precise target every day. What matters more is consistency and how the time is spent.
A reasonable rough guide
Somewhere around 10 to 20 minutes a day is a commonly suggested range for Early Learners and Key Stage 1 — but treat that as a loose guide, not a rule. A tired, resistant 20 minutes achieves less than a genuinely engaged 10.
Reading TO your child counts
This is the part that surprises a lot of parents: reading aloud to your child, where they're not doing the decoding themselves, still counts as meaningful daily reading time. It builds vocabulary, comprehension and a love of stories — all things that support their own reading later, even though they're not sounding out words themselves.
Little and often beats long and rare
A short daily habit builds skill and stamina far better than an occasional long session — the consistency matters more than the total minutes. If daily feels unrealistic, most days is still far better than an all-or-nothing approach.
Mix independent reading with shared reading
A good rough split: some time where your child reads (even a page or two, at their own level) and some time where you read to them (at a level above what they could manage alone) — both contribute differently and both count.
When it's more of a battle than a habit
If daily reading has turned into a fight rather than a habit, the amount of time matters far less than fixing that first — our post on encouraging a reluctant reader covers this in more depth.
Free material to build the habit
Our Reading, Writing & Literacy category has free activities organized by stage if you want short, structured practice alongside whatever books you're already reading together.
Want more literacy guides as we publish them? You can subscribe for free.