The Soccer Mom Blog logo

The Soccer Mom Blog

  • Family
    • Easy DIY & Craft Ideas
    • For The Home
    • Holiday Fun for Families
    • Houston Events for Kids & Family
    • Parenting Tips
    • Saving Money
    • Travel
  • Food
  • For Moms
    • Beauty Tips for Moms
    • Fitness & Healthy Lifestyle
    • Motherhood
    • Pregnancy & Breastfeeding
  • Kids Activities
    • Kids Activities and Crafts
    • How to Make Slime
    • Edible Slime
    • All Slime Recipes
  • Start a Blog
  • Work With Me
  • About
    • About Me
    • What’s New
  • SHOP
  • Privacy
Home » Family » Parenting Tips » Reading Aloud to Babies Exposes them to 1.4 MILLION Words by Age 5

April 13, 2019 · Updated May 5, 2022 · 5 Comments

Reading Aloud to Babies Exposes them to 1.4 MILLION Words by Age 5

Parenting Tips

Think that reading aloud to babies is a waste of time? Think again!

mom and baby reading a book; text overlay "How Reading to Babies Boosts their brain forever"

The Incredible Impact of Reading Aloud to Babies

There are so many things we’re supposed to do for our kids when they are babies and toddlers: introducing solid foods, transitioning to a crib and then a toddler bed, and basically just keeping them healthy and happy and growing!

Compared to those big responsibilities, little things like reading books to babies may not seem as important.

We get so busy with our daily lives that sitting down for a story doesn’t always happen. No big deal right? Babies can’t even read, after all!

However, experts say to start reading to your babies right away — from birth even! That’s because reading aloud to babies can actually change their brains and boost their abilities…forever!

The sooner you start reading aloud to you baby, the more brain boosting benefits they receive.

Here are some of the BIG benefits to reading to your baby:

1. Babies Whose Parents Read to them Learn to Read Sooner

If you’ve ever wondered how to teach your baby to read, the answer is simpler than you might expect.

Skip the fancy reading programs — experts say that the best way to prepare kids to read on their own is to read TO them as soon as possible.

Reading aloud to your baby helps them to pick up on tone, rhythm, inflections, and vocal patterns – even if they don’t yet understand everything you’re saying.

Plus, the more words a baby is exposed to at an earlier age, the easier it will be for them to learn to read when they’re a little bit older.

2. Reading Aloud to Babies Improves their Vocabulary

Talking to your baby is one of the best ways to help them build their vocabulary, but reading might just be an even better way!

Books, even seemingly simple picture books, actually introduce more uncommon words than conversations do. That’s because research shows we’ve become somewhat “lazy” with our language and generally use a small set of words on a daily basis. Books go beyond the standard 5000 common English words and add in unique and challenging words too.

When you look at the numbers, it’s pretty amazing the impact that reading aloud to babies has on their speaking vocabulary.

A 2019 study shows that reading to children every day exposes them to around 78,000 words each year — and up to 1.4 MILLION words by the time they reach 5 years old!

3. Babies that are Read to Achieve Higher Test Scores in School

One study shows that babies in a household that reads and talks together as a family scored higher on standardized tests at age three than children whose parents spoke to them less frequently.

The truly incredible part is that it isn’t just language and reading score that are positively impacted.

Another longer-term study of 17,000 people that followed participants from birth suggests that reading improves math ability too.

Reading aloud to babies sets them up for future success in school and beyond.

little boy laying on his mom's legs in the grass

What are the Best Baby Books to Read?

The best baby books to read to your little one are the ones you read!

What matters so much isn’t what you’re reading, but the fact that you’re reading to your baby in the first place.

Even though they’re little, babies do have preferences. They might just make the decision for you!

Our middle daughter had a handful of books that she LOVED to read together with us as a baby. You can tell they were her favorites because they are well-loved, and chewed-on! We saved those favorites for our youngest daughter.

If you’re looking for baby book ideas, here are a couple lists to get you started:

  • Our Family’s Favorite Baby Books – these are the ones passed down in our family!
  • 10 Unique Baby Books – Lauren at Happily Ever Elephants is a book expert known for her children’s book lists. This one is a wonderful collection of brain-boosting baby books!
  • 100 Strong Female Role Models Every Kid Should Know About – Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is one of my all-time favorite books, it’s perfect to read if you have multiple kids across different age ranges.

You don’t need a huge library to get started – in fact, kids love familiar stories! Repetition can help kids learn to recognize words and eventually read them!

Try This: Make reading a part of your daily routine. Whether it’s after breakfast or before bed, set aside 10 minutes a day to read with your child. Soon it will become a habit that you won’t want to break, and even better, a treasured time together.

It’s Never to Late to Start Reading with Your Kids!

Even if you’re past the baby days, it’s not too late to start reading with your kids and reaping the positive benefits!

Our friend Kelly at Happy You Happy Family explains that there is one “keystone” habit when it comes to raising smart, kind kids: reading.

The best part is that it only takes 10-15 minutes a day!

So whether your child is 9 months or 9 years old, developing a habit of reading together is pretty much guaranteed to make amazing things happen in their life!

Related: When Kids Repeat Themselves a MILLION Times, it’s Making Them Smarter!

More of our most popular posts about parenting babies:

mom pushing stroller "How to Rock Disney with a New Baby"

How to Visit Disneyland with a Baby

Mom kissing baby B&W photo with text "Dear Baby: As tired as I am, I love this time"

Dear Baby: As Tired as I am, I Love This Time

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom
Stacey is the creator of The Soccer Mom Blog, a Houston Texas mom blog that focuses on positive living for women and families. She loves to share real food recipes, money-saving tips, parenting encouragement, kids activities, DIY tutorials, home hacks, fitness, and so much more! To get to know Stacey even better, click here.
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom
Latest posts by Stacey aka the Soccer Mom (see all)
  • Why We Take Our Shoes Off In The House - March 27, 2023
  • Cowboy Caviar - March 24, 2023
  • Bunny Bait - March 22, 2023

Share this post:

33810 shares
  • Share33790
  • Tweet
  • Email
Previous Post: « Fisher-Price RECALLS Rock ‘N Play After at Least 32 Infant Deaths
Next Post: The BEST Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies – Only 2g Carbs! »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Melanie Thiesse says

    April 17, 2019 at 6:02 pm

    You might want to check your research. Being “exposed” to words is different from learning them. Since there are nowhere NEAR one million words in the English language, your statement is a clear misrepresentation of the research.

    Reply
    • Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says

      April 18, 2019 at 6:01 pm

      Hi Melanie – there was no intentional misrepresentation. I was genuinely excited when I read about this research and how many words kids hear through story time. The point of the post was simply to encourage reading to your babies.

      Reply
  2. Therese Tutupalli says

    December 13, 2019 at 6:42 am

    I enjoyed your blog article on reading to your child, but see no indication of where your information (especially statistics) is from. Where did you find it?

    Reply
    • Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says

      December 13, 2019 at 3:06 pm

      Hi Therese – When I mention a study, I link to it right there (the word “research” or “study” is usually hyperlinked) so you can see where I got that info. Hope this helps!

      Reply
  3. Kameel Vohra says

    July 15, 2021 at 6:36 am

    Great article. There’s so much evidence to support the benefits of reading to your child! There’s studies by the Reading & Literacy Discovery Center of Cincinnati’s Children’s Hospital, and the study by Hutton, Horowitz-Kraus, DeWitt & Holland (2015) – but suffice to say that there is neurobiological evidence to support that daily reading is very good for kids 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar


Hi there, my name is Stacey and I'm so glad you're here! I created this site to be a positive resource for moms and families. If it's your first time, I recommend that you click HERE to see what The Soccer Mom Blog is all about!
email facebook Pinterest Instagram twitter

Search the Blog:

Footer

Posts You Might Like

  • homemade ant killer
  • edible slime
  • how to make slime with contact solution
  • hair tourniquet

Popular Posts

  • Bob Marley Cocktail
  • Edible Pudding Slime – Only 3 Ingredients!
  • Homemade Dog Treats
  • Copy Cat Nutter Butter Recipe

The Soccer Mom Blog

  • About Me
  • Work With Me
  • Shop
  • Disclosure

The Soccer Mom Blog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Love the fonts you see? I found some of them here and you can too!

Copyright © 2023 · The Soccer Mom Blog · Design by Monique B Designs

33810 shares