Reading aloud at home especially to at-risk children can triple their resilience at school, researchers say.
A University of South Australia study focusing on kids who've suffered abuse or neglect has found the activity is one of the biggest recovery predictors in both boys and girls.
While reading to children at home has long been linked to school readiness and scholastic outcomes, the research is the first to show its benefits in mitigating maltreatment.
With one or more child protection notifications affecting nearly 300,000 Australian kids last year, a third were the subject of investigation and nearly 50,000 featured substantiated abuse or neglect.
The UniSA study found involvement in the child protection system to be strongly associated with poorer functioning at school commencement.
Those a little older than their peers when starting kindergarten, those without an emotional condition and those read to at home were better able to bounce back.
Maltreated boys demonstrated less resilience overall than girls but both had more than three times the odds of showing recovery signs when read to regularly at home.
Lead researcher, Professor Leonie Segal says there is an acute need to support struggling children and their families before they go off to class, with reading a key factor.
"A good start to school is predictive of later outcomes," she said.
"It's vital we not only identify those at risk early on but also find ways to support children's emotional, social and physical development.
"Reading out loud can create many positive outcomes."
Prof Segal says as a shared experience between parent and child, reading encourages connection while contributing to development through exposure to words and stories.
"Children in families that are struggling to create a nurturing environment will especially benefit from reading with a parent or carer, improving their resilience and keeping them developmentally more on track, despite their adversity exposure," she said.
The study analysed data covering more than 65,000 children who had completed the Early Australian Development Census when starting primary school.
It identified over 3400 at high-risk who had experienced maltreatment.
"Our study found boys had a much higher risk of being developmentally behind than girls, as did children living in remote or rural areas and those with a physical, sensory or learning disability," Prof Segal said.
"All these groups need far greater supports."
The study also recommended recruiting more male educators into early childhood settings and ensuring learning approaches sensitive to the specific needs of boys.
