Reading to kids pay off
Moms and dads who spend hours reading The Cat in the Hat or Goodnight Moon to their young children aren't just lulling them to sleep. A new study says that every time parents read a child his favorite bedtim book, they're preparing him or her for a successful future in school. Bedtime reading stimulates nearly every facet of a child's development, from language to memory, to motor skills, as he or she learns how to turn pages, understand sequences, and follow a narrative. "You can imagine if someone technologically came up with a widget that would stimulate all aspects of a 2-year-old's development, everyone would want to buy it," study author professor Barry Zuckerman tells the London Guardian. That widget happens to be made of paper and ink. Zuckerman's study shows that the earlier a kid gets into reading books with family, the better his test scores are as he grows up.