Illustrated books help children learn better

Pictures in books not only help children entertain but also teach them how to position the world effectively. Children learn best when the images are the most realistic.

Researcher Gabrielle Simcock at the University of Queensland, Australia, and Judy DeLoache at the University of Virginia, USA, examined 132 children less than 30 months old to see if they imitated actions in picture books. The results show that most babies complete the movements they see on the book page.

" This common form of interaction that occurs from an early stage in a child's life can provide an important source of information for them about the world around them ," Simcock said.

(Photo: imagesource) Most parents read children's stories daily, but until recently new studies focused on how parents should use books for their children.

In the first experiment, the children were read a book about how to create a rattles, including photographs showing a child stuffing a rubber ball into a plastic box and attaching it to a stick. The children were then given the tools and asked to create a pendulum.

Most children complete the steps, most of which stuff the ball into a plastic box and half add a stick. All performed better than the group that did not see the book.

The following photos were converted into drawings. Babies 24 months and 30 months of age perform as well as they see photos, but those 18 months and older cannot complete the task.

Finally, children 24 and 30 months of age can see guided pictures in black and white. This time, they were as bad as the group could not see the image.

The results show that children learn best from the most realistic responses of objects. When instructed by adults, they all fit in a complete pendulum.

MT