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Recently, the New York Times published a story about a bunch of studies just released that pertain to the benefits of reading to children. The article was written by Perri Klass, a pediatrician who co-authored a policy statement issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The news? “All primary care should include literacy promotion, starting at birth.”
In short, read to your kids. I’m thrilled this kind of science is getting the best coverage possible, but I’m equally depressed that, as the tone of the article would have it, parents need this kind of heavy-handed prodding just to crack open a book with their kid. That doctors have to instruct parents to read to their kids is frightening because reading to them should be as obvious as feeding them.
Meghan Cox Gurdon said it best in a Wall Street Journal essay about the merits of parent-child story time. “Unlike tech devices, which atomize the family by drawing each member into his own virtual reality, great stories pull people of different ages toward one another, emotionally and physically,” she wrote. Screens are slowly engulfing childhood playtime; kids used to go outside, play make-believe, build things with their hands, or – gasp! – sit quietly and read a book. Call me old-fashioned, but the thought of children sitting comatose, eyes glued to YouTube, not speaking to each other, not thinking for themselves, is chilling.
The Times article updated readers on the new study released this month in the journal Pediatrics that used imaging to track the brain activity of children ages 3-5, “as they listened to age-appropriate stories.”
Unsurprisingly, children who’d been frequently read to at home displayed greater brain activation, and, as the article highlights, “significantly more activity in the areas of the brain that process visual association, even though the child was in the scanner just listening to a story and could not see any pictures.” The child’s imagination is hard at work, their minds brimming with all sorts of story magic to fill the gaps. And that’s exactly how it should be.
Unfortunately, it seems that the battle against technology has only just begun, and it’s a battle we’re going to lose if we treat the importance of reading to our children like a revelation. Here are some of the greatest books to read aloud, both old and new, which will serve as potent weapons as we enter the fray:
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Roxaboxen, by Alice McLerran – This story of neighborhood kids who turn some rocks and old wooden boxes into a kingdom is charming and beautifully illustrated by Barbara Cooney.
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Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney – This title won the National Book Award, and for good reason: wistfully illustrated, it tells the story of the Lupine Lady, who spreads the joy of her green thumb everywhere she goes.
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If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Joffe Numeroff – This book is as delicious as its title, a classic that teaches kids about gratitude while introducing them to a new friend along the way.
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The Book With No Pictures, by B.J. Novak – This genius title forces the adult reader to say all the silly words inside, sending children into fits of giggles. It’s an irreverent idea that hits home every time.
And if you can’t possible fit story time into your busy schedule, opt for audiobooks. Jim Dale’s reading of the Harry Potter novels should not be missed, and it’s as easy as pressing play. And then there’s The Chronicles of Narnia, a set narrated by a thrilling cast of stars that include Kenneth Branagh and Patrick Stewart.
Who knows? Maybe you’ll lend an ear and slip through the wardrobe and back into Narnia yourself.
The post We Shouldn’t Need Experts to Remind Us to Read to Our Kids appeared first on Acculturated.