Reading picture books to children is a fun time for both parents and children, but what does it mean for children’s development? We asked Shoko Nozawa, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo’s Center for Developmental Childcare Practice and Policy Studies, who specializes in developmental psychology and childcare studies and has conducted research on reading aloud to children.

Children acquire language from picture books.

　When reading to a child, the child may become interested in something in the picture and point to it during the reading. If the parent tells the child, “This is ________,” the child will learn the name of the object. Children begin to have a “vocabulary explosion” in the latter half of their first year, and reading a variety of picture books at this time will help them acquire a large number of words. Research has shown that the words used in picture books are more varied than those used in everyday conversations between husband and wife or parent and child.

　It happened in my research that when boots were mentioned in a story during a storytelling session, one child about 1 year and 10 months old said, “My boots are here! He pointed to his own boots. The child made a connection between the fiction in the storybook and the reality of his surroundings. This is how children expand their perception of the world.

　However, if a parent tries too hard to get the child to learn the words when reading to him or her, and the child feels that he or she is not having fun, the child will miss a great opportunity to learn the words. What is important is that the child enjoys learning the words himself.

What does it mean to read to someone even if they don’t understand the story?

　It is said that it takes two to three years old to actually be able to properly understand a story with a beginning and end. However, even if they do not understand the story, I feel that reading to them is necessary. This is because the sharing of experiences between parents and children through picture books increases the intensity of communication, and the time spent reading to the child is a time when the child can monopolize the parent. The pleasant experience of being read to also leads to attachment to the parent and reassurance that the family is watching over them.

　It may be the case that your child does not respond well to picture books, but that alone does not determine that he or she is not a fan of picture books. They may not be in the mood for picture books, or they may not understand the story and find it boring. In such cases, wait until the child becomes interested in picture books. It is a good idea to leave the picture book where the child can see it. Often, they will suddenly become interested and ask you to read them to them.

　When a child asks you to “read a picture book,” please read to him or her as much as possible, even if you are busy. As children get older, parents often tell their children to “play by themselves” when they are busy, but when children ask you to “read” to them, it is also when they are looking for their parents. They think they can spend time with their parents if they have a picture book. In such cases, let’s spend a short time with the child to get close to his/her feelings.

Reading to children is a great way to get involved in childcare.

　If you don’t usually spend much time with your children, you may have trouble coming up with topics to talk to them about. In such cases, read a picture book to your child. If you find something that your child likes in the book, talk about it with him or her. It will surely stimulate conversation. Reading to your child is a great way to get involved in childcare.

　In addition, if both mom and dad read to the child, it will broaden the child’s experience of how the same picture book can make a different impression on different readers. In time, they may come up with picture books they want their mom to read to them and picture books they want their dad to read to them. In this way, the child’s interest will expand.

Reading a variety of picture books is a great way for children to discover what they like.
I hope you will visit libraries and bookstores to give them a chance.