Think of your child's favorite books: If they feature characters with names, your baby is getting a brain boost. That's because when babies are read stories with characters who have names, it leads to increased focus, longer attention span, and better brain responses than when read stories without, says a recent study published in the journal Child Development.
"This study tells us books that name multiple individual characters, animals, or objects may lead to higher quality shared book reading experiences, and result in learning and brain development benefits," study author Lisa Scott, PhD, a University of Florida psychology professor, tells Parents.com. "It could be that individual names lead parents to talk more, point more, or lead infants and parents to attend to the same thing at the same time and be more in sync with one another." Interestingly, actual names ("Buster," "Spot") rather than labels like "Dog" or "Cat" seemed to be most effective, perhaps helping infants tap into the important skill of face recognition. So if you're reading Pout Pout Fish for the 50th time (this week), try introducing him with a fun new name, like Ronald.
Although the study used special books developed for research purposes, we gathered some stories you can read that will have the most benefits for your baby. Also consider a few of our favorites!
