By now these scenes have become inevitable: A group of toddlers at the restaurant table, eyes glued at screen, volume on loud, parents oblivious that others are trying to enjoy an evening out. Another: Parent pushing stroller down the street with one hand, their other holding a phone, where their attention actually goes. The tools “connecting the world” once again keeping those in close proximity from connecting to one another.
Perhaps a new study from Rutgers University, published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, will help correct the expectable response from such parents, that “it’s the only way I can get them to quiet down.” It begins, as our greatest narratives do, by turning open the pages of a book.
According to the study, led by Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School assistant professor Manual Jimenez, parents that regularly read to their toddlers are not only less harsh overall, the children are also less likely to be disruptive or hyperactive. Better kids, better adults: A win-win.
These findings are part of a long line of research on the necessity of parental interactions with their offspring. As 80 percent of brain growth occurs during the first three years of life, with an average of 700 synapses forming per second, babies that hear more from their parents learn more words by age two. By contrast, babies that are spoken to less display learning disabilities for the next six years.
As research has shown, adults that read are more intelligent and empathetic. If this skill helps make better humans, it makes sense that infants that are read to would be less anxious and more in tune with their surroundings. It’s also understandable that parents that read to their kids would be less harsh to them, given that reactive parenting involves an emotional regulation deficit.
Ok, so you’re thinking isn’t reading to a 8 week old too early? Well no. Let’s face it, reading for baby is super good but we as adults also need to work on our reading habits. Although reading children’s books may not sound interesting but the earlier we start reading to them the be easier it will be to read to them as they grow.