Need another reason to read and play with your babies and toddlers? A study out of New York followed children from birth to age three and then assessed them at age 4 1/2, about a year and a half after they were part of a reading program. Their parents were given Reach Out and Read tools to help them read and play with their children. Then a subset were video taped and given pointers on how to better interact with their babies and toddlers.
Reading to your children could reduce hyperactivity, aggression and more. Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman 2012
Those children whose parents were video taped and given pointers had 69 percent less hyperactivity. They also had less problems with aggression and internalizing problems.
The New York group also studied giving the Reach Out and Read program and video component to children who were age three to five. Like their counterparts who had been enrolled in the program at a younger age, those children also had less aggression and internalizing problems, but they didn’t see as much hyperactivity reduction.
The study is in the April edition of “Pediatrics,” the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.