Posted on 05/13/2008 8:05:08 PM PDT by blam
Children better prepared for school if their parents read aloud to them
Young children whose parents read aloud to them have better language and literacy skills when they go to school, according to a review published online ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
Children who have been read aloud to are also more likely to develop a love of reading, which can be even more important than the head start in language and literacy. And the advantages they gain persist, with children who start out as poor readers in their first year of school likely to remain so.
In addition, describing pictures in the book, explaining the meaning of the story, and encouraging the child to talk about what has been read to them and to ask questions can improve their understanding of the world and their social skills.
The review brings together a wide range of published research on the benefits of reading aloud to children. It also includes evidence that middle class parents are more likely to read to their children than poorer families.
The authors explain that the style of reading has more impact on children’s early language and literacy development than the frequency of reading aloud. Middle class parents tend to use a more interactive style, making connections to the child’s own experience or real world, explaining new words and the motivations of the characters, while working class parents tend to focus more on labelling and describing pictures. These differences in reading styles can impact on children’s development of language and literacy-related skills.
The Reach Out and Read programme in Boston has improved the language skills of children in low income families by increasing the proportion of parents reading to their children.
The programme provides books and advice to the parents about the importance of reading aloud. Parents who have been given books were four times more likely to say they had looked at books with their children or that looking at books was one of their child’s favourite activities, and twice as likely to read aloud to their children at least three times a week.
Source: British Medical Journal
deconstruct...reconstruct.
Hasn’t this research been “Captain Obvious” for hundreds of years already?
They probably spent millions on this “ground - breaking” study. To quote Red Foreman, “Dumbass!”
Many people I come into contact with absolutely hate reading. For me, one of my most cherished childhood memories is when my father used to sit next to my bed at night and read a chapter in a book to me. In addition to the various mental and learning benefits afforded by reading to children, an important emotional and relational bond is formed between the parent and child. This bond is drawn upon and used as a basis for the formation of future relationships.
How can people not already know this - its like you know DUH!
Ah, gober-ment grants. You can get ‘em for anything.
Well, at least they found the right answer, even if it is obvious. Better than getting a big research grant and then finding the wrong answer, like the global warmists.
I think reading aloud is very important, and I did it with all of my kids until they reached high school. I remember being read aloud to when I was a boy—not as much as I would have wished, but it was a wonderful experience when it happened.
I would add to the good effects that it’s one way that fathers can bond with their children.
It has been understood by parents forever that time spent with the child reading at home pays dividends, A library card at an early age gives the child a ticket into a wonderful world.
I read silently to my kids.
“Children better prepared for life if home-schooled.”
i think the biggest gift we ever gave to the kids was a love to read. we taught the oldest who then taught the next who then taught the next... right now i'm rereading the Painted Bird.
ping
My mother read to me until I began to read on my own. I have always had an insatiable desire to read (I always have at least three books going at once). However, she did the same for my brother and he never developed the love of reading that I did. Go figure?
In Freakonomics, the linkage was slightly different than this. He discovered that kids did better in school if they had the kind of parents who would read aloud to them. A minor, but important, distinction.
I had to reread that headline a couple of times before moving onto the article for clarrification.
Skimming the headline I had to make sure it didn’t say “Children Better BE Prepared For School If Parents Read Aloud To Them”, because yeah this article IS stating the obvious (and my parents did read to me as a small child).
Would be an excellent idea if the parents could read.
My mother still reads to me. Every morning she reads the paper to my wife and me. It is getting tedious. She is 85. Is it OK for her to stop now.
Dear Abby, Dear Abby,
My Mom just won’t quit
She reads me the paper
while at breakfast I sit.
I don’t need her to do it,
I don’t need it at all.
And while she is reading,
I am climbing the wall.
Signed, Bored Listener.
Bored Listener, Bored Listener,
You have no complaint.
You are what you are
and you ain’t what you ain’t
So listen up buster
and listen up good.
Stop wishin’ for bad luck
and knockin’ on wood.
Signed ...
DEAR ABBY
Depends on the material - The Wealth of Nations, yes; Heather Has Two Mommies, no.
You mean parents matter? What a revelation!
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