Reading to Young Children: A Head-Start in Life

The research sets out to explore the connections between parents

reading to their young children and their child’s later reading and
other cognitive skills.

Key Findings
The frequency of reading to children at a young age has a direct causal effect on their
schooling outcomes regardless of their family background and home environment.
 Reading to children at age 4-5 every day has a significant positive effect on their reading
skills and cognitive skills (i.e., language and literacy, numeracy and cognition) later in life.
o Reading to children 3-5 days per week (compared to 2 or less) has the same effect on
the child’s reading skills at age 4-5 as being six months older.
o Reading to them 6-7 days per week has the same effect as being almost 12 months
older.
 Children read to more frequently at age 4-5 achieve higher scores on the National
Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests for both Reading and
Numeracy in Year 3 (age 8 to 9).
 These differences in reading and cognitive skills are not related to the child’s family
background or home environment but are the direct result of how frequently they have
been read to prior to starting school.

This research is a result of a partnership arrangement between the Department of Education and Early
Childhood Development and the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research.

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Introduction allows for checking the consistency of results when
Cognitive skills of young children are an important using different measures.
factor in explaining success later-on in life. Skill The literature on the association between reading
attainment at one stage of the life cycle raises skill to children and developmental outcomes is quite
attainment at later stages of the life cycle (Cunha et extensive. The results all point in the same
al., 2006). Cognitive ability affects the likelihood of direction: there is a strong association between
acquiring higher education and advanced training, reading to children and developmental outcomes.
and the economic returns in terms of wages and However, there is only scant evidence on whether
quality of jobs (Heckman & Masterov, 2007; Cunha this can be interpreted as a causal effect. This study
et al., 2006). undertakes a number of analyses using economic
and statistical methodology to investigate this
Cognitive skills are not fixed but can be influenced question in detail.
through investment in preschool training, education
in school, and significantly, parental efforts. The Methods
most effective period for cognitive skill investment The analysis in this study used the Longitudinal
by parents is early on in the life of their children Study of Australian Children (LSAC) Child Cohort,
(Cunha et al., 2006). Previous studies have found a and followed a group of over 4000 children who
positive association of parents reading to their were aged 4-5 years in 2004 through to age 10 to
children and the child’s subsequent reading skills, 11. LSAC includes a wide range of information
language skills and cognitive development. Children relating to the child’s family environment, early
who are read to more frequently at an early age childhood and schooling experiences, and physical,
enter school with larger vocabularies and more socio-emotional and learning outcomes.
advanced comprehension skills (Mol & Bus, 2011).
This study considered the influence of the
Research has found that reading storybooks to frequency of reading to children at age 4-5 in terms
children is one of the most important activities for of their current and future performance on
developing the knowledge required for eventual measures relating to:
success in reading. Reading to pre-schoolers has  Reading skills – children were rated by their
been found to be related to language growth, parents, and carers or teachers in terms of
emergent literacy and reading achievement. (Bus et their reading skill levels. Different measures
al., 1995). In addition, reading to children also are used at different ages: e.g. at age 4 an
stimulates them to read books themselves and index ranging from 0 to 3 is used - 0 equates
further develop their cognitive skills (Canoy et al., to low skill (cannot read yet) and 3 equates to
2006). high skill (can read complex words and simple
sentences).
This study examines the effect of parental reading  Language skills – the Peabody Picture
to children early in life on the child’s own reading Vocabulary Test was used to assess the child’s
and other cognitive skills. The research approach language skills.
and analysis controls for a wide range of child,
 National Assessment Program – Literacy and
parent, household and childcare characteristics.
Numeracy (NAPLAN) – the child’s scores in
Year 3 NAPLAN (age 8-9) were also included.
The study focuses on parents’ reading to children at
4 years of age and the subsequent development of  Other cognitive measures that support
very early reading skills (at age 4-5). This focus on learning – these measures change with age
early reading skills is relevant since early remedial ranging from measures of school readiness at
or stimulating activities may be important for later age 4-5 through to teacher ratings of the
reading skills/proficiency. In addition to reading child’s approach to learning up to the age of
skills at age 4-5, reading skills at later ages (up to 11.
age 10-11) are also examined. At most ages, more  Non-cognitive measures relating to physical
than one reading skill measure is observed, which and socio-emotional outcomes.

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The data analysis was split into two phases: The data also show that girls do slightly better than
i) descriptive analysis – examining the patterns boys independent of the frequency that they are
in the raw data, and being read to. This pattern is evident across all
ii) multivariate analysis – to remove the measures in the LSAC with girls doing better than
influence of family and household boys in all language-related skills.
characteristics, which are correlated with the Figure 2: Reading skill by intensity with which children are being read
frequency of reading to children, in order to to at age 4-5 (boys and girls) – Teachers score
reveal the causal effect of the frequency of
reading to children at age 4-5 on their future
abilities in the skills shown above. This
estimation of causal effects exploits the
existence of factors that influence learning
outcomes only through their impact on
whether children were read to or not.

Descriptive Analysis
Relationship between reading to children and
reading skills of the child
The raw data used in the descriptive analysis
indicate a clear association between reading to
children more frequently and higher early reading
scores. As seen in Figures 1 and 2, children who are
read to more frequently have higher reading skills For another example of this association, see the
as measured by parents and teachers at age 4-5. skills of girls and boys at age 8-9, as measured by
the NAPLAN reading tests. Figure 3 shows that
Figure 1: Reading skill by intensity with which children are being read girls who are read to more frequently are more
to at age 4-5 (boys and girls) – Parental score likely to score high on the NAPLAN reading test
(i.e., the curve in the graph shifts to the right).
Similarly, Figure 4 shows that boys who are read
to more frequently are also more likely to score
high on the NAPLAN reading test.

Figure 3: NAPLAN reading skill by intensity with which the child is

being read to at age 4-5 – Girls at age 8-9

Parents and teachers were asked about the child’s

reading ability. Their responses were converted to a
scale between 0 and 3 where:
(0) could not read yet
(1) could read simple words
(2) could do two out of the three skills listed under
(3)
(3) could read all of simple words, complex words,
simple sentences.

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Figure 4: NAPLAN reading skill by intensity with which the child is Figure 6: Cognitive skills (e.g., language and literacy, numeracy and
being read to at age 4-5 – Boys at age 8-9 cognition) by intensity with which girls are being read to at age 4-5
– Skills at age 8-9

The results also show a similar association for Multivariate Analysis

numeracy skills. Girls and boys who are read to Factors affecting frequency of reading to
more frequently are more likely to score high on
children
the NAPLAN numeracy tests, however these
The multivariate data analysis controls for the
effects are smaller compared to the effects on
influence of family and household characteristics
the NAPLAN reading tests.
(such as the number of TVs in the home, the
Relationship between reading to children and education level, age and income of the parents,
cognitive skills of the child number of siblings, and the primary language
The raw data also show patterns indicating a spoken) in order to explore the effect of the
clear association between reading to children frequency of reading to children at age 4-5 on
more frequently and higher cognitive skills at age their future cognitive skills.
8-9. Figures 5 and 6, presented below, show a
shift to the right of the probability line as the For girls and boys, some similarities in results
frequency of reading for both girls and boys were found including: that the child is read to
increases. less when the child is older, there are more TVs in
the home, more TV is watched on weekdays, and
Taken together, Figures 1 to 6 show that there is there are more siblings. The child is read to more
a clear association between reading to children when there are more books in the home and the
at a young age, and the level of reading and education of either parent is higher.
other skills that these children develop over the
following years.
Factors influencing reading skills of children
Figure 5: Cognitive skills (e.g., language and literacy, numeracy and Reading skills of boys are better, for example, when
cognition) by intensity with which boys are being read to at age 4-
5 – Skills at age 8-9 the child is older (within the 4-5 age range) and a
non-English language is spoken at home. Broadly
similar results are observed for girls.

Although the education of the parent has no effect

(or a small effect opposite to what is expected) on
reading skill at age 4-5, positive effects of parental
education are estimated for later reading and other
skills.

Effect of reading to children

The results confirm the strong association between
reading to children and their own early reading

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outcomes. Moreover, the results indicate that, if References
anything, the causal effects of reading to children  Bus, A. G., van IJzendoorn, M. H., and Pellegrini,
are larger than the observed associations in the raw A. D. (1995). Joint book reading makes for
data. success in learning to read: A meta-analysis on
To place the size of these effects in context, they intergenerational transmission of literacy.
can be compared to the effect of age. For boys, Review of Educational Research, 65, 1–21.
reading 3-5 days per week (compared to 2 or less)  Canoy, M., J.C. van Ours, and F. van der Ploeg
has a similar effect on reading skills at age 4-5 as (2006). The economics of books, in: Victor A.
being just under six months older, whereas, Ginsburgh and David Throsby (eds.), Handbook
reading 6-7 days per week (compared to 2 or less) of the Economics of Art and Culture, Amsterdam,
has a similar effect on reading skills at age 4-5 as Elsevier, 721-761.
being just under one year older. The effects for  Cunha, F., J.J. Heckman, L.J. Lochner and D.V.
girls are slightly larger relative to age than for boys, Masterov (2006). Interpreting the evidence on
comparing to just over six months increase in age life cycle skill formation, in: Hanushek, E.A. and
and just over one year increase in age respectively. F. Welch (eds.) Handbook of the Economics of
Education, Amsterdam, Elsevier, 697-812.
Conclusion  Heckman, J.J. and D.V. Masterov (2007). The
The study shows that there is an important role for productivity argument for investing in young
parents in the development and educational children, Review of Agricultural Economics, 29
performance of their children. Parental reading to (3), 446-493.
children increases the child’s reading and other  Mol, S.E. and A.G. Bus (2011). To Read or Not to
cognitive skills at least up to the age of 10–11. This Read: A Meta-Analysis of Print Exposure From
is an early-life intervention that seems to be Infancy to Early Adulthood, Psychological
beneficial for the rest of their lives. Bulletin, 137, 267–296.

The results indicate a direct causal effect from Resources

reading to children at a young age and their future
schooling outcomes regardless of parental income,  Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge
education level or cultural background. Although http://www.education.vic.gov.au/prc/
many studies have shown an association between  National Year of Reading 2012
reading and schooling outcomes, actual causality http://www.love2read.org.au/
has been much more difficult to prove.

Acknowledgments
This summary paper is based on the 2012 research
report, Reading to young children: a head-start in
life, authored by: G. Kalb and J.C. van Ours. The
research report was developed through the
Department’s research partnership arrangements
with the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic
and Social Research.