Daily reading gives children a significant language head start
Children read to five times a day may hear 1.4 million more words by age five than those never read to, a study suggests.
Children who are read five books every day could hear an estimated 1,483,300 words by the age of five, according to a study from The Ohio State University. This is significantly higher than the 4,662 words estimated for children who are never read to, the Times of India reported.
The research, titled 'When Children Are Not Read to at Home: The Million Word Gap', was conducted by Jessica A R Logan and her colleagues. The study was published in 2019 in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioural Paediatrics.
To reach these estimates, researchers worked with the Columbus Metropolitan Library to analyse 100 circulated children's books. They found that board books averaged 140 words, while picture books averaged approximately 228 words.
The study suggests that reading one book every day could result in children hearing 296,660 words by age five. Those read to three to five times a week were estimated to encounter 169,520 words, while those read to once or twice a week reached 63,570 words.
Researcher Jessica Logan explained that hearing a wider range of vocabulary may help children recognise words in print when they start school. The study noted that books can introduce subjects and vocabulary not typically found in everyday home conversations.