Educational TV programs, instructional videos and even some computerized games claim to help children develop language skills.

But doctors at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas say there’s only one tried-and-true method to help infants speak and understand language: Read to them.

\"When parents come to me with a child who has delayed language skills, the first thing I do is ask them how much they read to the child,\" says Dr. Paul Bauer, assistant professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery.

\"Many times helping a child understand language and helping them develop speech is a matter of taking time to read to them.\"

In fact, parents should begin reading to their children as young as 6 months old, Dr. Bauer says.

While infants don’t know the meaning of many words, hearing the sounds helps their brains develop critical language skills. It enhances a child’s pronunciation of words, expands vocabulary and begins programming the brain for more advanced speech and reading.

Media Contact: Steve O’Brien

http://www8.utsouthwestern.edu/utsw/cda/dept37377/files/69377.html