Reading and its effects on developmentOver the years, the attention focused on children from birth to three years has increased significantly. It was actually in the 1970s that researchers began to believe that reading to children would help stimulate their growth and development. Until the 1970s, many people believed that children lacked intellectual abilities. Some people also believed that a baby's hearing and vision were not operational in the first few months of life. But over the years, studies have shown the opposite. It has been proven that the first three years of life are the most critical years in a child's development. One area being examined by researchers and teachers is how reading to infants and toddlers affects their development. Researchers and child development specialists advocate that parents start reading to their children from birth because it helps the child's brain develop more quickly and aids in the development of language skills. Brain development is very crucial in the first three years of life. Experts now say that it is the first three years of a child's life that could hold the key to the future (Phillips, 1998). Newborns are born with approximately one hundred billion brain cells, and when the baby is not stimulated the brain cells die. The critical period of brain development falls within the first six months of life; the sensitive period of brain development includes birth to three years of age (Murray, n.d.). At three months the brain has the potential to distinguish several hundred speech sounds. In the following months the brain organizes itself to recognize only the sounds it hears (Phillips, 1998). This shows that if a child is not exposed to literature and other......middle of paper......Are we making a difference? Pediatrics. Retrieved April 22, 2003, from http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0950/4_105/62023007/print.jhtmlMaxcey, M. (1998, April 29). Reading to children stimulates early brain development. Retrieved April 20, 2003, from http://www.agnews.tamu.edu/stories/CFAM/Apr2998a.htmMurray, B. (n.d.). Understanding brain development and early learning: New research better informs the "nature vs. nurture" question. FACSNET. Retrieved April 23, 2003, from http://www.facsnet.org/tools.sci_tech/biotek/eliot.phpPhillips, A. (1998, April 27). The baby's brain: the first three years of life could be the key to the child's future. Courier. Retrieved April 22, 2003, from http://www.wcfcourier.com/life98/980426first.htmlPorter, P. (2003, April 6). Early brain development. Retrieved April 20, 2003, from http://www.educarer.com/brain.htm