Why Read to Babies?
Eighty-percent of a baby’s brain is developed by the age of three. Talking and reading to your baby from birth promotes neural development in the brain. Reading and talking to your child before starting school also develops pre-literacy skills. Start early, read and talk often, and create a daily routine with your child.
A Million Little Things
A newborn baby has all the brain cells (neurons) they’ll have for the rest of their life … about a million. At least one million new neural connections (synapses) are made every second in infants, more than at any other time in life. (First Things First, “Brain Development”)
Making Senses
The senses of touch, smell, taste, hearing and vision are in various states of development at birth and mature at a phenomenal rate for the next 4 to 18 months. (AbilityPath, “How Your Child’s Sensory System Develops”) The language center is at the center of the brain and verbal stimulation aids in the development and integration of all the other senses.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) research by the Cincinnati Children’s Clinic and others since 2017 shows remarkable stimulation at the center of the brain, especially when someone familiar is reading a book and showing pictures.
Read, read, read, talk, talk, talk. Your child is listening to you, learning from you and communicating with you.
And BabyRead can help.
BabyRead® is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides free services to its families in Oconee County. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent of the law.