Health Benefits of Reading

Reading is a beloved pastime that can positively affect cognitive health and even help to reduce stress. Though those benefits are largely associated with adults, reading can be equally beneficial to children, even those who have yet to learn how to read. According to the Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center, an affiliate of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, infants pick up on language earlier than researchers once realized, and hearing language is important as their brains prepare them to speak. Reading also supports word learning and preliteracy skills in older children. The ECLKC notes that when adults read to children, they typically speak words they would not otherwise use in typical discourse. That helps children expand their vocabularies, even before they learn to read on their own.