Reading develops children’s language ability and interaction

ELECTRONIC toys that produce light, words and songs, encourage a poorer response to verbal interaction among infants than when they play with books, according to a recent study.

The researchers at Northern Arizona University carried out the study among children aged 10 to 16 months, in their own homes and found that the infants vocalised less and there were fewer adult words used, fewer conversational back-and-forth turns with their parents and less production of content-specific words, when they played with electronic toys, in comparison with books.

The results come as no surprise to Niamh Fortune, lecturer at the Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education at Maynooth University, who says books win hands-down, if compared to the benefits of electronic toys.