Reading & Brain Function
Reading with my son in the early days of motherhood.
When babies are born, their brains are blank slates with the only hardwired information stemming from survival instincts; Eat, sleep, dispose of waste, and to notify those around when there is an unmet need with the aforementioned. From birth, children’s brains are completely malleable to the environment around them. As children grow, their life experiences begin to help their brain take shape, almost like the liquid concrete foundation of a home beginning to set and solidify for the rest of the framework to be built off of. This means that some of the earliest life experiences of babies can help or hinder a child’s ability to learn later on.
As Dr. Rebecca Shore states in her book Developing Young Minds, “Language is not hardwired at birth, but when a child repeatedly hears language over time, neural networks will form that will ultimately provide the connections necessary to produce spoken language. Neurons repeatedly connect to the same or similar nearby neurons, creating a pathway or networks. Experience and repetition lend greater strength to these clusters of firing neurons, forming faster neural networks through which signals flow” (Shore 2015). Before a child can read and comprehend an entire book, they must be able to decode and read words. Before a child can decode and read words, they must be able to identify letters and their corresponding sounds. Before a child is able to identify letters and their corresponding sounds, they must be frequently and repeatedly exposed to the sounds letters make through simple and complex language.
Parents and caregivers can help babies and young children gain exposure to letters and sounds by narrating their daily activities, pointing to objects and naming them repeatedly, by pointing at letters and making the letter sound repeatedly, and of course by reading. By taking the time to read to children, adults are helping them activate and develop parts of the brain related to concentration, memory, language, vision, critical thinking, and creating meaning (Horowotz-Kraus & Hutton 2015). Reading is so good for the brain, especially little brains that are still developing! Countless studies involving brain imaging indicate that multiple areas of the brain are used when reading, or when listening to an adult read for little ones. Having this information can help adults with littles in their lives promote future literacy success by exposing them to meaningful language either through conversation or reading. So grab the nearest book and put those developing brains to work today!
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