How books can help with children's development in the Early Years

Published on: 31 July 2024

At BookTrust, our research shows that reading for pleasure brings children life-long benefits. But how does it help their development in the early years, especially for those children experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage?

We asked author and Early Years consultant Lily Holland to explain the benefits of sharing books with young children.

It won't come as a surprise to any of you that reading (and being read to) is incredibly valuable for all our children. It is, however, easy to forget all the ways that books support our youngest and most vulnerable learners.

Being able to explain just how wide-ranging the impact of reading is can help you make sure that everyone looking after children sees books as a priority.

Doing this can be especially inspiring for encouraging less-confident adult readers that their time spent sharing books is as valuable to children as anyone else's. It might even be the extra push needed to encourage families experiencing disadvantage, or unequal access to resources, to share reading at home.

Check out BookTrust's research here

Supporting communication and language

Regularly reading, or being read to, is fantastic for communication and language development as children hear new words and explore their contexts through the pictures or stories.

It grows their vocabulary and helps them to develop understanding, as well as offering a chance to practise those listening and attention skills which underpin so much of communication and language development.

If you aren't confident reading aloud, you could talk about the pictures, encourage the children to spot details in them, and even make up your own story to go with the illustrations.

Look for books which introduce new vocabulary around topics children are already interested in. Children who love dinosaurs can learn complicated names and facts easily because they're so motivated by the topic, and this is the same in all other areas too. If toddlers can learn to say 'Tyrannosaurus Rex', they can absolutely learn many other big, interesting words!

As anyone who's ever read to a group of children will know, reading also opens up space for lots of questions and conversations! It's a powerful way to nurture children's natural curiosity – and this is something that will help them grow into resilient and motivated learners throughout their life.

Supporting physical skills

In the Early Years, reading is also a fantastic way to develop lots of physical skills.

Lifting, moving and manipulating books, especially heavier board books, gives babies and young children the chance to develop gross motor movements in their arms.

It also requires them to develop balance and core strength as they shift the book's weight to share a page with you.

As babies and toddlers learn to turn pages, move novelty parts, or lift flaps, they're practising tricky fine motor movements and building strength in their wrists, fingers and thumbs.

As they get better at turning pages, they're also developing the sensory skills which help them to understand how much force is needed to make this action happen.

This learning is why some books might suffer from rips or mangled pages as they get used to moving from tough board books to delicate paper ones... but that process of realising how to adapt the strength of their hold will support their understanding of force as they explore other parts of their world.

Knowing how firmly to approach a task will be important for everything – from holding a pencil to doing up a zip to knowing how hard to tap or hug a friend when they're playing.

Supporting empathy and emotional development

Reading and sharing stories is also a powerful way to develop empathy – a skill that's often taken for granted but does need lots of practice.

Books encourage children to put themselves in other's shoes, imagine experiences they might not have context for, and build understanding around feelings and how we can handle them.

Developing this skill over time, and discussing how the characters feel as you read a story together, will help develop empathy.

Those who might have difficult experiences in their past can also use stories and books to help them process what has happened, and to see some possible ways to handle the emotions and impacts in the way characters react.

Simply settling down with a trusted adult and a book can be an important social learning opportunity, too. Feeling safe and held while someone you trust looks at a book with you is a powerful way for children to build meaningful, positive relationships with the grown-ups in their lives. We know building this kind of bond is essential to ensure children feel safe and ready to learn in Early Years settings and classrooms.

Why access to stories should be a right for all children

Connecting through stories is such a powerful, positive thing that it should be a right for all children. Encouraging parents and caregivers to make the most of books needs to be high on our priority list in the Early Years and beyond.

We know making sure children have books of their own to read and share is not always easy, but being able to explain all the reasons why it can be so transformative is one way of making sure it's prioritised.

BookTrust's Letterbox Club is a simple way to use Pupil Premium funding. The contents are designed to engage and support children who have experienced vulnerability or disadvantage, providing them with high-quality books to enjoy and keep. And that is the best gift of all!

Learn more about Letterbox Club

50 Words About Nature: Animals by Lily Holland, illustrated by Debbie Powell is out now.