Parents Who Regularly Read With Young Children Improve Their Language Skills By Eight Months

Many people read to their young children and a new study finds they’re not doing so in vain. Newcastle University researchers analyzed studies from five different countries and found small children who were read to showed an improvement in their receptive language (understanding), expressive language (putting their thoughts into words), and pre-reading skills (learning how words are structured.) Socially disadvantaged children were found to experience more benefits than others. Researcher and Professor of speech and language James Law added, “While we already knew reading with young children is beneficial to their development and later academic performance, the eight-month advantage this review identified was striking. Eight months is a big difference in language skills when you are looking at children aged under five.”