Words of wisdom

> Encouraging a love of reading in children can help boost language and literacy skills as well as school performance

such as being able to write their name at age four.

Boost vocabulary Norwegian research which looked at 1,171 first-grade pupils and their parents found that children whose parents read to them in early childhood, and who grew up in homes with lots of books, were better-prepared to learn to read when starting school.

Children who were read to before age two, and who had access to plenty of children’s books had a vocabulary that is almost twice that of those who have less books at home and who were only read aloud to after the age of four years, added the researchers.

A wide vocabulary helps boost children’s reading, and improves school performance, as children understand more of what is happening and find it easier to keep up in class.

Boost imagination A small-scale 2015 study of 19 preschoolers aged three to five showed for the first time that reading during early childhood appears to have a measurable and positive effect on the brain.

After measuring how much parent-child reading the children were exposed to at home, the researchers then took MRI scans of the children’s brains while they were listening to stories via headphones.

They found that children who were exposed to more reading showed increased brain activity in the areas critical for oral language and reading, as well as the areas linked to mental imagery, which has the benefit of boosting children’s imaginations and enabling them to ‘see’ the story. – AFPRelaxnews