Research on the developing brain has confirmed that environmental factors during the first three years of a child's life are crucial to the formation of neural pathways. The expanding brain power of a toddler is astonishing as trillions of synapses, or the connections that allow learning, are formed during those very early years. Reading to children triggers and enhances these connections. At no other time in human development is brain potential so great. The American Academy of Pediatrics says reading stimulates brain development and it recommends that caregivers begin reading to babies by the age of 6 months.
Language acquisition occurs similarly across cultures from birth to age 4. A toddler's language expands rapidly, from the few spoken words of baby talk to a vocabulary of around 3,000 words by the time he is 5 years old. By reading aloud to children during this time period, parents are teaching the spoken language and also laying the foundation for an understanding of the written word. Syntax, grammar and vocabulary rules all begin long before a child understands the letters on a paper.
Reading books to children assures their preparedness as they enter preschool and kindergarten. Reading is the first academic building block in teaching a child how to learn, but also exposes them to the vast world beyond their rooms. By reading and soliciting a child's response, a parent is encouraging natural curiosity and fostering a desire for learning. Also, as a parent engages the child in the subject matter, the interaction between reader and child assists with social skills.
Because reading is an integral part of any learning, early exposure to it boosts a child's overall capacity to learn. A love of reading opens the world to children, be it in literature, history, science, current events or even math; it all begins with the written word. According to the National Center for Education, children whose parents read to them perform better in school and on standardized tests.
There may be no more intimate a bond than the one which occurs as an adult quietly reads to a child on his lap. The parent is instilling a sense of love, security and protectiveness, all while opening the world of possibility found in the pages of literature. Parents are also modeling behavior that their children will emulate and pass on.