By: Inas Essa
Every day, science reveals to us how reading is much more than just a good and rewarding habit. It can strengthen the brain, increase the ability to empathize through a better understanding of the feelings and beliefs of others, help prevent age-related cognitive decline, reduce stress, and help alleviate depression symptoms.
While the above-mentioned benefits are more related to adults, reading can benefit infants as well by improving their language development, according to a recent study by researchers at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine.
Reading Benefits for Kids
Reading aloud to children has tons of benefits, not only for children through building their literacy skills, but it also strengthens the parent-child relationship through positively influencing parental psychosocial functioning and child behavior. It is considered one of the most effective ways to improve vocabulary and phonological acquisition through exposure to enriched language.
Previous research has shown the role of a stimulating home reading environment in increasing networks in the brain involved in higher-order language skills, including semantic processing and mental imagery. While research in this area is well-established for toddlers, reading benefits for infants is less-established even though language development starts from birth.
How Could Daily Reading Improve Language Development?
Researchers of the recent study investigated the effectiveness of a simple, outpatient intervention to improve expressive and receptive infants’ language development. During the study, parents were given a set of children's books chosen to support early language development and interaction; they were asked to read at least one book a day. After that, infants were tested with an expressive and receptive language test.
Results showed that the infants who received consistent, daily reading, starting at two weeks of age, demonstrated improved language scores as early as nine months of age and had higher expressive, receptive and combined language scores. "One book each day is an easy goal for new families to try. To see that there is a measurable improvement in speaking and understanding before one year old is very exciting," said Adam M. Franks, M.D., professor of family and community health at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and corresponding author of the study.
In conclusion, regular reading is beneficial for infants as early as nine months of age as it improves their language development. These results shed light on the importance of setting daily reading goals for children to harvest future benefits.
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