Global study shows benefits of reading to babies from birth

Children who were regularly read books from birth were more likely to know letters and words and to speak using complex sentences by the age of three, study finds.

Ibrahim Faraj reads to his daughter Lily. Picture: Supplied

Babies who are read books from birth start school with bigger ­vocabularies and more interest in reading, an Australian-led study shows.

The world’s largest research study on the impact of book reading, led by Macquarie University PhD candidate Claire Galea, worked with United Way Australia and the Dollywood Foundation to send books to 86,000 new parents in Australia, the US, Canada, Britain and Ireland.

In findings that have impli­cations for children struggling to read and write at school, babies and toddlers who were regularly read books from birth were more likely to know letters and words and to speak using complex sentences by the age of three.

Ms Galea said the Australian study involved 343 families in the NSW country town of Tamworth, where a local preschool has adapted its literacy program to ­account for children’s improved literacy.

“Reading to a child four days a week from birth, for 10 to 15 minutes each time, means they are more likely to show emerging literacy skills before they start school,’’ Ms Galea said.

“They can retell a sequence of events from a book and build their vocabulary.

“Children were eight times more likely to be interested in reading when exposed to books in the home for 12 months.’’

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) estimates that one in six children has not been read to or told stories by the time they turn two.

Children are more likely to read at school if their parents read them books as babies, a new study shows. Picture: iStock

Ms Galea said children who were not read books at home tended to start school behind.

“Some kids go to school and can’t even hold a book because they have not been exposed to reading,’’ she said.

Children who had been read to as babies and toddlers, however, “can track words left to right, and act out characters in books’’.

“Having books at home makes all the difference,’’ she said.

“The main mission is to get children to love books, because they’ll be eight times more likely to be interested in books when they’re at school.’’

The study, which tracked children from birth to three years, found that 74 per cent of Australian caregivers were reading to their three-year-old children at least once a day, compared to the national average of 58 per cent.

Ms Galea said the reading program also improved parents’ bonds with their children.

“The study showed 85 per cent of caregivers felt more connected to their child, and reported spending more quality time together as a family, as a result of receiving books,’’ she said.

“The importance of access to physical books in the home may be a fundamental step in helping to address the current literacy ­crisis.’’

Tamworth father Ibrahim Faraj enjoys reading books to his daughter Lily, who checks the letterbox for new books in the mail.

“We have been receiving books for a couple of years and we have really seen our daughter grow with the books,’’ Mr Faraj said.

“She loves the books every month, and we very much enjoy reading as a family.’’

Lily Faraj enjoys books sent through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Tamworth. Picture: Supplied

One in three Australian children failed to meet the baseline standard for reading and writing – with one in 10 requiring remedial tutoring to catch up – in this year’s National Assessment Program, Literacy and Numeracy ­(NAPLAN) tests.

Ms Galea plans to track children’s progress through NAPLAN when they start school next year.

She said 3500 children were now enrolled in the Tamworth ­library, which has started offering literacy classes for some of the parents who struggled to read.

The books were provided through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and United Way Australia, two charities that have gifted some 1.3 million books to 43,000 children over the past 11 years.