All parents wish for well-behaved children, and while teaching your kids to be kind, calm and attentive can seem a monumental task, new studies show that reading aloud to them can seriously aid your efforts. A 2018 study conducted by researchers at New York University School of Medicine found that children who were read to by their parents were significantly less likely to be aggressive, hyperactive or have difficulty paying attention. These effects also lasted over a year and a half after the conclusion of the study, showing just how important reading aloud to your kids can be.
Perhaps most importantly, the parents in this study read to their children for just five minutes a day, an amount of time we can all spare in our busy schedules, especially if it helps our kids become better able to learn and prosper in a group environment when they begin attending school.
While reading to your child at any time of day is beneficial, researchers have found that bedtime reading does the most for childhood brain development, fostering faster growth in the brain’s language centres, which expands children’s vocabulary and helps them master language faster.
To kickstart your daily bedtime reading routine with your kids, why not break open a copy of our colourful, fun new book Fáilte Pope Francis? Full of charming letters and gorgeous drawings from children around the country, the book is a joy to read with little ones, and if it helps their brains grow and calms them down, that’s just a bonus.