The Effects of "Reading with Dad" on Children's Language Development (Part 2)

They say that a father's 'why' question has a great influence on his child.

In my last paper, I talked about how important it is to read books to children and talk to them.

This time , I brought a study conducted at Harvard about how important the “questions” fathers ask when reading a book together are.

This paper examines the effects of fathers' 'why' questions on children's vocabulary acquisition and verbal reasoning abilities.

Paper of the Day: Going Beyond Input Quantity: Wh‐Questions Matter for Toddlers' Language and Cognitive Development (wiley.com)

When reading a book, is language exposure the only thing that matters?

The “why” questions that fathers ask their children play an important role in their children’s vocabulary acquisition and verbal reasoning abilities, a study found. In a study of 41 American fathers and their 24-month-old children (n = 41), the number of “why” questions fathers used was associated with their children’s vocabulary and verbal reasoning abilities.

Interestingly, children answered 'why' questions more frequently than other questions, and used more complex sentence structures.

How Does Asking 'Why' Affect Children?

It is said that a father's 'why' questions have the following positive effects on children:

• Stimulates children's thinking. 'Why' questions encourage children to think more deeply and ask questions about the world.

• Develops children's vocabulary. To answer 'why' questions, children learn and use new words and expressions.

• Develops children's verbal reasoning skills. Asking 'why' questions helps children develop their ability to think logically and solve problems.

• Improves children's communication skills. By answering 'why' questions, children learn to express their thoughts and opinions clearly.

So today... ask your child the question 'why'!

Ask questions like, 'Why are you doing that?', 'What is that?', and 'What happened?'

Listen to your child's answers, and ask additional questions to encourage him or her to think more, or tell him or her what he or she can say.

If you can't answer the 'why' question

Thinking about why your child cannot do something and how to develop their thinking skills can be a starting point for helping your child develop language skills.