Research shows that children who have been read and talked to in the womb in the third trimester, show greater brain development at birth than other children.*
So when should you start reading to your child?
When you start thinking about having a baby!
There are four reasons for this.
First, reading to a child doesn’t just change the child, it changes the parent. When we read to children, it strengthens the bond between both reader and child. This means we can start becoming better parents long before we actually become a parent.
Second, over the last few decades we have begun to understand maternal effects: the mother’s state of mind can cause changes, harmful or helpful, for the child in the uterus.** Reading builds a bond with your child, but the quiet time is also calming.
Third, if you are of a spiritual perspective, it is possible your child is already waiting for you. If so, it is never to early to reach out.
Finally, by taking a few moments each night to read to the child you hope to have, you start the routine of reading each night. Then when your baby shows up, you will have your routine in place.
And you will have yourself in place!
* Mariani, B., et al. “Prenatal experience with language shapes the brain.” Science Advances 9, no. 47 (2023): eadj3524. Link.
** Mulder, E., et al. “Prenatal maternal stress: effects on pregnancy and the (unborn) child.” Early human development 70, no. 1-2 (2002): 3-14. Link.