--- title: Reading to Kids: Why Reading to Children Is Good for their Brains description: A new brain scan study finds that reading to a child activates the part of the brain that allows them to understand the meaning of language canonical: https://time.com/3836428/reading-to-children-brain/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-27T16:29:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T06:41:58.103Z article:section: Health og:title: This Is What Happens When You Read to a Child og:description: A new brain scan study finds that reading to a child activates the part of the brain that allows them to understand the meaning of language og:url: https://time.com/3836428/reading-to-children-brain/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4eb1435bd541e8b3/6987ed13428a9e9f37ccb1da/child-reading-book.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3411 og:image:height: 1919 og:image:alt: child reading book og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Is What Happens When You Read to a Child twitter:description: A new brain scan study finds that reading to a child activates the part of the brain that allows them to understand the meaning of language twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4eb1435bd541e8b3/6987ed13428a9e9f37ccb1da/child-reading-book.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is What Happens When You Read to a Child > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=55da9910-87ea-43bc-af59-21bcfcdde100&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Apr 27, 2015 4:29 PM UTC  Young girl reaching for book on high shelf Young girl reaching for book on high shelf Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Apr 27, 2015 4:29 PM UTC For years, child advocacy groups have recommended that parents read to babies, even though research hasn’t been clear on what the practice does to a child’s brain. Now, a new brain scan [study](http://www.abstracts2view.com/pas/view.php?nu=PAS15L1%5F1355.8) explains that reading to a child early and often activates the part of the brain that allows them to understand the meaning of language. The study, presented last weekend at a meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies, looked at 19 preschoolers and their interactions with their parents. Nearly 40% of the children came from low-income backgrounds. Parents filled out a questionnaire that assessed their habits for raising their children and included questions asking whether the parents had taught their children skills like counting, how often the parents talked with their kids and how early and often parents read to their children. **MORE**: [Kindergarteners Watch More Than 3 Hours of TV a Day](http://time.com/3835891/child-obesity-kindergarten/) Researchers then attached brain scanners to the children as they listened to stories. Reading at home with children from an early age was strongly correlated with brain activation in areas connected with visual imagery and understanding the meaning of language. “For parents, it adds credence to the idea of reading with kids,” says study author John S. Hutton, a pediatrician at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. “Getting a peek into the brain, there seem to be some differences there that are pretty exciting.” **MORE**: [6-Month-Old Babies Are Now Using Tablets and Smartphones](http://time.com/3834978/babies-use-devices/) The study adds to past research showing that reading has many positive effects on young children, like teaching the rules of syntax, expanding children’s vocabulary and helping children bond with their parents, Hutton says. But the new study is among the first to add real understanding of what actually happens to young brains. Hutton says he hopes that further research will help us provide parents with guidelines on best practices for reading to children. “This is sort of an early signal,” Hutton says. “In terms of how much and how often, that’s the kind of thing we’re hoping that future studies will look into.” [For all the week’s news of interest to families, sign up here for TIME’s free weekly parenting newsletter. ](http://time.com/t4parents) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3836428/reading-to-children-brain/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3836428/reading-to-children-brain/"},"headline":"This Is What Happens When You Read to a Child","datePublished":"2015-04-27T16:29:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:41:58.103Z","description":"Reading activiates an important part of a child's brain","url":"https://time.com/3836428/reading-to-children-brain/","keywords":["Research"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4eb1435bd541e8b3/6987ed13428a9e9f37ccb1da/child-reading-book.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4eb1435bd541e8b3/6987ed13428a9e9f37ccb1da/child-reading-book.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"child reading book","caption":"child reading book","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3836428/reading-to-children-brain/","name":"This Is What Happens When You Read to a Child"}}]}] ```