Reading and Verbal Ability

I saw a news headline that said reading for fun impacts verbal ability. What does that mean? I let my kids watch educational TV, but we are not a reading family. Do you have any comments or recommendations?

 I regret to hear that you are not a “reading family.” One of the excellent things my mother did for me was to read aloud for 30 minutes every day after she found she was pregnant with me. I believe I was born loving stories and anxious to read. Indeed, I started “reading” simple books by the time I turned age three. In addition, I love writing—in the process of co-authoring a 12-part Legends of the Wild series—nonfiction as well as animal allegories that likely fall into the category of fiction. They are a great way to help people learn new information about the brain, relationships, and EQ. Study results published in the journal Reading and Writing showed that the more people read any kind of fiction—even mass market stuff derided as pulp—the better their language skills are likely to be. More tomorrow