No substitute for reading to your kids

National Education editor

STORYTELLING should not be left to electronic babysitters with experts warning against the rise of digital stories on websites where celebrities read children’s books out loud.

While technology has improved our lives in many ways, literacy specialists warn that nothing beats the lifelong value of reading a conventional book.

International platform Storylineonline receives over 100 million views annually and Australian company Story Box Library has more than 1400 subscriptions from the education sector, 130 from libraries and more than 1000 from families across Australia – but experts warn digital channels should be used to supplement, not replace.

Even just 10 minutes of reading a night can generate lifelong cognitive benefits and studies have showed early shared reading, an adult reading to a child, at two and three years of age is linked to academic achievement later in life.

Australian Catholic University’s Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education researcher Ameneh Shahaeian – who did research using NAPLAN scores and reading habits to predict academic success – said reading to a child at any age helps cognitive development.

“Language development, critical thinking, problem solving, memory – basically anything that comes under the umbrella of cognitive development,” she said.

“The more parents read to children and earlier they start the children do better in their cognitive development.”