Studies show that reading books with your young children does more than help them learn words and develop their language skills. It also helps them learn to pay attention, set goals, and control themselves.

These important life skills – part of what is called executive function – begin to develop in early childhood.

As pediatrician Dr. Perri Klass wrote in a New York Times articlePutting books in the hands and homes of young children helps “foster the language-rich parent-child interactions that build children’s brains.”

Dr. Klass is national medical director of Contact us and reada program working with pediatricians to encourage parents to read with their young children. Doctors in the program talk to parents about “serve and give back” interactions that promote positive brain development, like asking questions and letting your child help tell the story.

What does all this talk about brain research mean for the parent of a baby, toddler, or preschooler? Read with your child every day.

As Dr. Klass pointed out, reading with a one-year-old “is less about reciting all the words in a story and more about pointing and naming, asking and answering, and of course to feel the affection and the feeling of security that will leave him. a child with positive associations with books and reading. As the saying goes, “a love of books begins in the arms of a parent.”

It’s this type of interaction with your son or daughter that will help their brain develop. It’s not just that your child will begin to recognize letters and eventually words. Reading together also teaches them life skills that they will take with them into adulthood.

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About First of all

First Things First is Arizona’s early childhood agency, committed to the healthy development and learning of young children from birth to age 5. Learn more about early childhood programs at FirstThingsFirst.org.