Some benefits of reading aloud to children are easy to see . It permit parent to insert kids to books that they ’re not quite quick to read on their own , thus improving theirliteracy skills . But a fresh study put out in the journalPediatricsshows that the simple routine of reading to your kids can also influence their behavior in surprising ways .
AsThe New York Timesreports , researchers looked at immature baby from 675 low - income kinsfolk . Of that group , 225 crime syndicate were enrolled in a parent - pedagogy syllabus shout out theVideo Interaction Project , or VIP , with the remaining families serving as the control .
They establish that 3 - twelvemonth - old taking part in the study had a much low chance of being aggressive or hyperactive than children in the control group of the same age . The researchers wondered if these same effect would still be seeable after the program end , so they revisited the small fry 18 months later when the kids were approach score - school years . Sure enough , the field of study subject field show fewer behavioral problem and better direction than their peers who did n’t welcome the same interposition .

understand to child is n’t just a style to get them excited about books at a young age — it ’s also a positive form of social interaction , which is of the essence at the other stage of societal and emotional development . The study author write , " Such programs [ as VIP ] can result in clinically significant differences on long - full term educational issue , pass on the cardinal role of behavior for child learnedness . "
Being study to is something that can do good all kids , but for low - income parent working long time of day and unable to afford childcare , finding the time for it is often a battle . harmonize to the 2011 - 2012 National Survey of Children ’s Health , only34 percentof fry under 5 in families below the poverty melody were read to every day , compared with 60 pct of tiddler from wealthier families . One way to constringe this water parting is by learn raw parent about the benefits of learn to their children , possibly when they visit the baby doctor during the crucial first months of their child ’s life .
[ h / tThe New York Times ]