Why Reading to Young Kids Is Important
Why Reading to Young Kids Is Important – A new study shoes that reading to young children promotes early learning.
The common recommendation to new parents is that they start reading aloud to their babies as early as possible. Doctors have long known the impact of reading aloud to kids on their ability to learn language and prepare them for literacy later on.
Dr. John S. Hutton and his team from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio studied 19 preschoolers, aged 3 to 5, including some from low-income families. Parents provided information via questionnaires on how often they read to their kids, access to books, about their interactions with kids, including, talking, playing, and teaching them to recognize shapes and numbers.
Researchers then used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans to look at the brain activity of the kids as they listened to stories via headphones. Researchers noted more activation in the parietal lobes of the brain, as parents reported reading more. The parietal lobes are linked to understanding language. They also saw increased activity in the occipital lobes, associated with the ability to visualize.
Hutton says, “Parents should definitely read often and read widely,” involve kids in conversation and go beyond what’s on the page. He presented the study at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in San Diego.
Category: News
