Read aloud with newborns, young kids for lifelong benefits: Researchers

A team of US researchers on Sunday encouraged parents and caregivers to read aloud with their newborns and young children as an opportunity to foster loving, nurturing relationships during a critical time of brain development.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that pediatricians support families with guidance and books at well-child visits, according to an updated policy statement, marking the first update in AAP recommendations since 2014.

Given the extraordinary amount of research in this area, an accompanying new technical report reviewed the evidence for shared reading as a way to strengthen and nurture relationships, stimulate brain circuitry and create early attachments.

“Reading together with young children weaves joyful language and rich interactive moments into the fabric of daily life,” said Perri Klass, MD, FAAP, lead author of both statements.

“As a pediatrician and parent, I suggest making books your bedtime routine, using them to connect and wind down after a busy day, and generally building them into life with a young child. It will strengthen the bonds that hold you together, and build your child’s developing brain,” Klass added in the statement published in the journal Pediatrics online.

Policy statements and technical reports created by AAP are written by medical experts, reflect the latest evidence in the field, and go through several rounds of peer review before being approved by the AAP Board of Directors and published in Pediatrics.

“Turning the pages of a high-quality, print book filled with colourful pictures and rich, expressive language are best,” said Dipesh Navsaria, a co-author of the technical report and chair of the Council on Early Childhood.

While touchscreens and other electronic devices may be popular, they are typically passive or solitary experiences for children and do not offer the same benefits of interactivity and relationship-building, said Navsaria.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that pediatricians should encourage shared reading beginning at birth and continuing at least through kindergarten, including, when possible, in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

They should develop skills to discuss with parents strategies for mutually joyful and developmentally appropriate reading activities and encourage meaningful, language-rich engagement with books, pictures, and the written word, and model techniques to prompt reciprocal, responsive, positive experiences.

“Research tells us that reading proficiency by third grade is a significant predictor of high school graduation and career success,” said Klass.