Does reading to children have an effect on their speech and language*?
Yes, and the literature on speech and language development supports this. Reading to children helps not only their oral and written communication, but even their social language. If they read along or help you turn the page, it helps them with attention and attending to a task. If they ask you to read more, it assists with speech. It helps to facilitate language because they learn the idea that there’s a sequence to things and that’s another way of communicating, by reading. Q: What can parents do to help their children expand their vocabularies? A: Talk to your children. I think parents think it’s odd to talk a lot when they are alone with their child, but talking of any type helps. Children get their vocabulary from their environment and from you, so that’s why you have to start talking even before your child is talking. It especially helps when you talk about what’s happening at the moment. Kids are very concrete and they think and talk about events that are happening in the present
