Bedtime stories may not teach reading

November 7, 2005

A new study shows that reading to toddlers is probably not teaching them how to read on their own.

While there are developmental benefits to story time, preschool children pay very little attention to the printed words on a page, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported.

To learn how to read, children must pay attention to the letters and recognize words, said University of Guelph psychology professor Mary Ann Evans. Her research, published in this month's issue of Psychological Science, found that preschoolers focused instead on the pictures.

Evans suggested that instead of simply reading a book to preschoolers, parents also point to letters in the book.

A previous study she conducted found that parents who read with their children, instead of to them, sped up development of reading skills later on in school, the newspaper said.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International


print this article email this article download pdf blog this article bookmark this article     Stumble it Digg this share on Facebook retweet share on Reddit add to delicious
Rate this story - 1 /5 (2 votes)

Rank Filter

Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

  • itistoday - Apr 29, 2009
    • Rank: not rated yet
    I don't think anyone actually thought it did, at least my parents didn't. How could they when I would be laying down on the bed with my eyes to the ceiling? They read to me because they thought it would encourage my curiosity to want to learn how to read for myself, and it did. :-)

November 7, 2005 all stories

Comments: 1

1 /5 (2 votes)
  • Stumble this up

  • Digg this

  • share this

  • hide
  • Related Stories

  • Study: kids watching hours of TV at home daycare
    created Nov 23, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • The court will now call its expert witness: the brain
    created Nov 20, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Genome advances promise personalized medical treatment
    created Nov 18, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Today's children decide their school and career path early
    created Nov 15, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • New brain findings on dyslexic children
    created Nov 11, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


Other News

Living buildings could mop up carbon dioxide

Living buildings could mop up carbon dioxide

Other Sciences / Other

created 1hour ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Architecture could help us tackle climate change, if we start to design our buildings with 'living' materials, according to Dr Rachel Armstrong, UCL Bartlett School of Architecture.


Message gone viral? Blame it on altruistic, yet image-conscious Internet  'e-mavens'

Message gone viral? Blame it on altruistic, yet image-conscious Internet 'e-mavens'

Other Sciences / Economics

created 22 hours ago | popularity 3.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Why do some online ad campaigns go viral while other online marketing messages gather "cyber-dust" on the information superhighway? The key may lie in the motivation of Internet users to email ...


The skyline of Tokyo in Japan, where scientists have criticised the new government for plans to slash research budgets

Japan scientists attack govt research cut plans

Other Sciences / Other

created 16 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Top Japanese scientists, including four Nobel laureates, have criticised the new government for plans to slash research budgets, warning the country will loose its high-tech edge.


Researcher: Faint writing seen on Shroud of Turin (AP)

Researcher: Faint writing seen on Shroud of Turin (Update)

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Nov 20, 2009 | popularity 2.3 / 5 (31) | comments 45

(AP) -- A Vatican researcher has rekindled the age-old debate over the Shroud of Turin, saying that faint writing on the linen proves it was the burial cloth of Jesus. Experts say the historian may be reading ...


Explained: The Discrete Fourier Transform

Explained: The Discrete Fourier Transform

Other Sciences / Mathematics

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (26) | comments 8

(PhysOrg.com) -- In 1811, Joseph Fourier, the 43-year-old prefect of the French district of Isčre, entered a competition in heat research sponsored by the French Academy of Sciences. The paper he submitted ...