BILLINGS — Reading to your children improves more than just their vocabulary. In fact, reading to your children daily improves their speech, attention span, cognitive understanding, and their ability to identify emotions.
Learn tips to read to your children more effectively in the video below:
According to a 2019 study by Ohio State University, children who are read to daily, on average know 1.4 million more words by kindergarten than a child who is not regularly read to.
In Billings, pediatric speech pathologist Morgan Bowser at Billings Clinic is encouraging parents to begin reading to their children at the start of infancy.
"Part of reading to your kids is going to be exposing them to new vocabulary, more vocabulary than just talking to them throughout your day," Bowser said Tuesday.
According to Bowser, reading to your child daily is beneficial for their cognitive development and encourages the use of all five senses. Bowser encourages the use of picture and sensory books when reading to younger children, as the bright colors can improve their visual spatial attention span, and interesting textures can make the experience more interesting.
"I think that it's more than just teaching kids words. It really is building their brain, their heart, and their bond with their caregiver," she said.
