The University of Melbourne has found a direct link between parents reading aloud to their pre-schooler and the child’s future reading abilities.
This Victoria Department of Education /University of Melbourne research found that “the results indicate a direct causal effect from reading to children at a young age and their future schooling outcomes regardless of parental income, education level or cultural background.”
The study also found that children read to more frequently at age 4-5 do much better in their Year 3 NAPLAN assessment in both Reading and Numeracy.