Researchers at Marshall University’s pediatrics division have observed that daily reading boosts language development in infants younger than one year. The findings were described in a study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.
When parents read at least one book every day to their child starting from two weeks old, nine months in, language indicators improved. The gains included better speech comprehension and more responsive nonverbal reactions to spoken language.
The study reviewed earlier work on how children acquire language and conducted a practical experiment with 34 participating families. The families were randomly assigned to one of two groups to compare reading results against a control condition.
In the first group, parents received a curated set of 20 children’s books chosen to support early language skills. They committed to reading at least one book daily and used a specialized language assessment to track their child’s progress. The second group did not receive the book set but underwent the same testing schedule. Researchers then compared outcomes between the two groups to determine the impact of daily shared reading on language development.
Across the study, the authors noted that consistent reading exposure can influence early language milestones, with implications for parents, pediatric care teams, and early childhood education programs. The results align with broader evidence that interactive reading activities support vocabulary growth, phonemic awareness, and listening comprehension—key components of later academic success.
These findings underscore the value of reading aloud as a straightforward, everyday practice with measurable benefits in the critical first year of life. While the research centered on a specific sample, the observed trends reinforce recommendations from pediatric organizations that encourage regular, meaningful literacy experiences for infants and toddlers. Further studies are encouraged to explore how different book genres, reading routines, and caregiver interactions shape language outcomes over longer periods.