Recent studies confirm how reading aloud to toddlers and preschoolers can significantly activate the left hemisphere of the brain involved with semantic processing. (Photo : Facebook)
Reading age-appropriate books aloud to toddlers and pre-schoolers can activate the left hemisphere of the brain that can spur critical thinking. A study recently published in the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatricians uncovered that young minds are stimulated by home reading in a way child-targeted cartoons and online videos may not be able to do.
Researchers in the United States surveyed brain activity patterns of 19 children aged three to five years using magnetic resonance imaging. It turned out that kids who were read to at home exhibited greater "activation of left-side brain regions involved with semantic processing," the American Academy of Pediatrics published.
The study's lead author, Dr. John Hutton, noted that young children who hear stories from parents, siblings or elders are aided in building brain networks that may help them make the ransition to books without photographs later on in life. This is because the areas of the brain processing visual association are stimulated.
Dr. Hutton surmised that books will significantly spur brain activity of kids; they need to hear words/stories from people, rather than from television screens or computer monitors.
A related study underscored how picture books generally offered "more unique word types" than typical speech/conversations directed at children. Hence, young children who are read to with picture books hear more words, enabling their brains to create mental images of those words, the Association for Psychological Science published.
Both studies draw attention to the fact that even in the digital age, face-to-face interaction of parents and older siblings with young children is vital to the latter's cognitive development, and not just to their emotional well-being.
