September 30, 2025 • 11 mins
This episode will explore how the brain builds its ability to read. Hosts are Developmental Therapist Kayla O'Neill and early literacy specialist Lynne Hall.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the EarlyChildhood On-The-Go
(00:03):
podcast. I'm your host,Kayla O'Neill, and today
we're exploring howthe brain builds its
ability to read, startingeven before birth.
With me is my colleagueand friend, Lynn
Hall. She's a researchassociate at the Early
Childhood Centerand former preschool
teacher. Lynn, thankyou so much for joining.
Hi, Kayla. Thank you.
I am so excited to behere talking about
(00:25):
reading and the brain.
Reading is one of the mostamazing skills our
brains develop.
I'm so excited to talkabout this. So let's
just jump right in.
Can babies reallystart developing reading
skills in the womb?
Believe it or not,they actually do.
Around 18 weeks, afetus starts hearing
(00:46):
sounds. And by thethird trimester, babies
can recognize theirmother's voice and
even the rhythm ofstories read aloud.
That early exposureto sound lays the foundation
for phonologicalawareness, which is
the ability to noticeand work with
sounds in language.
(01:06):
So if a parent reads or theyjust, if they sing to their baby
bump, does it really matter?
Absolutely.
Those sounds are shaping thebrain's pathways for language.
The left side of thebrain, which later
specializes in languageand reading, is already
organizing itself.
It's kind of likepreparing the soil before
(01:27):
planting the seeds.
Okay, that's fascinating.
So after birth,babies out and about,
does the brainkeep growing fast?
Yeah, it does. As amatter of fact, in
infancy, the brain ismaking about 1 million
new connectionsevery second. And by
(01:48):
six months, babiesstart to babble. By
around 18 months, theyrealize that words
actually connect toobjects, like knowing
that a ball meansthat round toy over
there. And this is tiedto brain areas too.
Yeah, exactly.
So the temporallobe, which helps with meaning,
(02:09):
kind of kicks in here.
Then pruning begins.
And what that means is the brainkeeps those strong
connections andstarts to kind of
trim or get rid ofthe weaker ones.
Reading aloud to infantsstrengthens the
important pathways.
Even simple board books, babiesholding them, turning pages,
(02:30):
pointing at pictures,activate the visual
cortex and start linkingsounds to symbols.
So reading tobabies, it's already
wiring that brain forlater reading. Does
it matter what theyread? Can it be a
picture book? Couldit be a magazine?
You know, Kayla, itreally doesn't matter
as long as we'redoing it in a playful
(02:51):
way and we're kind offollowing the baby's
lead and they'rehaving fun looking
at the pictures. Babiestend to like really
bright illustrationsand larger kind
of font if they'relooking at, you know,
that black and whitedifference. But again,
yes, it is nevertoo early to start.
Okay, great. So nowthat we've talked about
(03:12):
babies a little bit,let's talk about
toddlers again. We'rethinking maybe ages one
to four. What'shappening at this stage?
Oh my gosh, Kayla.
Toddlers are just likelittle sponges.
Their left hemispherebecomes more dominant
for language. Theystart to connect
sounds to meanings, andthen they practice
producing them. Thisis a huge step for
(03:32):
later decoding skills.
Everyday experiences likesinging songs, hearing rhymes,
pointing to words inbooks, all of these
things help them noticesound patterns like
cat and hat. So they'rebuilding these pre
-reading skills withouteven realizing it.
(03:52):
Exactly. They're kindof recycling brain
circuits meant forspeech and recognition,
and now they're usingthem for print. If
reading is part of dailylife, those circuits
grow stronger. Andthere's evidence that
kids who enjoyreading early on show
better cognitive skillsand even stronger
(04:13):
mental health inadolescence. So keeping that
in mind, it's reallyimportant to make that
reading experiencefun and engaging. We
want to follow ourchildren's lead. We don't
have to read everyword on the page. We
can just kind of talkabout the pictures
and the objects inthose pictures that our
toddlers are interestedin. We want to make
(04:34):
this a fun, exciting,a connection, a
nurturing type ofexperience to increase
toddlers' motivation tokeep exploring books.
I think, you know, Ihear that all the time
where parents getconcerned about, you
know, my toddler's notinterested in books.
And I think it's soimportant to remember
that we do want tokeep it a positive
experience and readingcan look so different.
(04:55):
Like they can readstanding up. You can find
ways to, you know,get them to even move
around during storytime. Maybe we're going
to act out thecharacters. I feel like
reading can look sodifferent at the stage.
Those are great tips.
Those are some greatstrategies that you
mentioned. And alongwith that, reading to
(05:16):
children when they'rein the high chair,
having a little snackis a great time. You've
got a captive audiencewho's kind of busy
doing something else,especially if you
have a toddler whois on the go, go, go
once they start walking.
Right. And so anotheropportunity is in the
bathtub. Yes. That'swhat I remember doing
with my kids. Yes,absolutely. So it's
good for all toddlers,but especially those
(05:37):
toddlers that arereally hard to pin down.
That's a great timeto start looking at
some picture books.
Those are great.
Another, I lovethinking outside the
box when it comes toreading with toddlers.
What are some other things thatparents can really
do to make themost of this stage?
So kind of, we've spokeabout a little bit,
but making that readinginteractive. So it's
(05:58):
a two-way street.
We want to ask ourtoddlers some pictures
to really get, or somequestions, excuse me,
to get them engagedwith that story. Pointing
and saying, what'sthat? letting your
child turn the pages, nomatter how quickly
they're going to want todo that is totally fine.
These little thingsactivate the brain's
reward centers andmake reading feel joyful
and a whole lot lesslike work and like
(06:20):
something that thegrownup is wanting them
to do. I love that.
Keeping reading fun. It'snot homework. I agree
so much that that isso important. So as
we move forward, I'vegot a seven-year-old.
How about ages fiveto seven? And that's
when, you know, mostkids are starting that
formal reading instruction.
I would love toknow what's happening
in my daughter's brainright now as she's
(06:40):
kind of in this stage.
Yeah, so this is areally pivotal time,
Kayla. This is wherethe real transformation
happens. Aroundages five to six,
called the novicestage, kids realize
that letters standfor sounds. And the brain starts
linking that visualrecognition of letters
with sound analysis.
(07:02):
So this is wherephonics comes in, right?
Yes, exactly. So byages six to seven,
again, these are justvery general ages,
kind of the typicalthings that we see,
but remembering thatchildren develop at
their own pace, kidsare going to move
into that decodingstage. They are starting
to sound out wordsusing phonics. The
(07:24):
visual word form areaof the brain starts
to specializingin print. And with
practice, the brainbecomes more efficient.
White matterconnections strengthen,
gray matter thins insome areas, showing
that the brain isstreamlining its processes.
And so by the end of the stage,some kids are reading fluently.
(07:45):
Exactly. That is the goal. Andthat's what typically happens.
Around age seven and beyond,reading starts to
feel pretty automatic.
The brain shiftsfrom heavy effort
in speech areas toquicker processing
and language areasfor comprehension.
Practice literallyrewires the brain,
(08:06):
making reading fasterand smoother. It is
so fun to hear littleones read at this
age. Like I said, mydaughter's seven and
she's starting toread. And it's just,
it's so amazing howit's like, I feel like
it went so fast whereit's like she was
just starting tokind of read and now
she can just read.
I know. Sometimes itseems like it happens
so quickly, but itreally is a process.
(08:26):
Yeah. Oh, for sure.
Well, that's justamazing. But we know
that some kids, thismay not go quite as
smooth. What aboutthings like dyslexia?
How does this impact?
Yes, you're right.
Sometimes it doesn't goexactly like this and
it can be concerningfor families, right?
But in dyslexia, thebrain literally processes
(08:47):
sounds differently.
The left brain readingcircuits may be
less active and kidsmight rely more on the
right side or the frontalareas. It's usually
a delay rather thana total difference.
And with early support,especially things
like phonics-basedteaching, the brain
(09:07):
can build newpathways and catch up.
Okay, so spottingchallenges early really
makes a difference.
But can you tell me too, what isphonics-based teaching?
So, well, absolutely.
So delayed babblingor a family history
can be early signs. Theearlier we support
kids, the better theiroutcome. So when we
think about phonics-based teaching, we're
putting a lot ofemphasis on the sounds
(09:29):
that letters make andreally supporting
children to make thatconnection between the
letter and its sound.
Okay, gotcha.
So, you know, that'sa great way, you know,
kind of gives us hopethat we have things
that we can do. There'stools out there,
you know, if kiddosneed support with
reading. um as we'rewrapping up here we've
learned so much todaybut what are your top
(09:50):
takeaways for parentsso i'm i'm probably
going to just soundlike a broken record
because you know youalways ask me this
question i feel likei have the same answer
but start readingearly even before birth
make reading part ofyour daily routines
i can't say enoughpositive things about
that nurturing,comforting bedtime story,
(10:13):
right? You want tokeep it interactive
and fun most of alland limit screens so
that books are reallyin the spotlight. For
school-age kids,combining phonics with
comprehension andabove all, be patient.
Every child learnsat their own pace
and are on their own trajectory.
That's such greatadvice. Thank you so
(10:34):
much for helping usto understand how
the brain and readinggrow together.
I love talking aboutthis topic, Kayla.
So really thepleasure is all mine.
That's our episode for today.
Thanks for listeningto Early Childhood on
the Go. Don't forgetto subscribe and share.
Stay curious.
Welcome to the EarlyChildhood On-The-Go
(00:03):
podcast. I'm your host,Kayla O'Neill, and today
we're exploring howthe brain builds its
ability to read, startingeven before birth.
With me is my colleagueand friend, Lynn
Hall. She's a researchassociate at the Early
Childhood Centerand former preschool
teacher. Lynn, thankyou so much for joining.
Hi, Kayla. Thank you.
I am so excited to behere talking about
(00:25):
reading and the brain.
Reading is one of the mostamazing skills our
brains develop.
I'm so excited to talkabout this. So let's
just jump right in.
Can babies reallystart developing reading
skills in the womb?
Believe it or not,they actually do.
Around 18 weeks, afetus starts hearing
(00:46):
sounds. And by thethird trimester, babies
can recognize theirmother's voice and
even the rhythm ofstories read aloud.
That early exposureto sound lays the foundation
for phonologicalawareness, which is
the ability to noticeand work with
sounds in language.
(01:06):
So if a parent reads or theyjust, if they sing to their baby
bump, does it really matter?
Absolutely.
Those sounds are shaping thebrain's pathways for language.
The left side of thebrain, which later
specializes in languageand reading, is already
organizing itself.
It's kind of likepreparing the soil before
(01:27):
planting the seeds.
Okay, that's fascinating.
So after birth,babies out and about,
does the brainkeep growing fast?
Yeah, it does. As amatter of fact, in
infancy, the brain ismaking about 1 million
new connectionsevery second. And by
(01:48):
six months, babiesstart to babble. By
around 18 months, theyrealize that words
actually connect toobjects, like knowing
that a ball meansthat round toy over
there. And this is tiedto brain areas too.
Yeah, exactly.
So the temporallobe, which helps with meaning,
(02:09):
kind of kicks in here.
Then pruning begins.
And what that means is the brainkeeps those strong
connections andstarts to kind of
trim or get rid ofthe weaker ones.
Reading aloud to infantsstrengthens the
important pathways.
Even simple board books, babiesholding them, turning pages,
(02:30):
pointing at pictures,activate the visual
cortex and start linkingsounds to symbols.
So reading tobabies, it's already
wiring that brain forlater reading. Does
it matter what theyread? Can it be a
picture book? Couldit be a magazine?
You know, Kayla, itreally doesn't matter
as long as we'redoing it in a playful
(02:51):
way and we're kind offollowing the baby's
lead and they'rehaving fun looking
at the pictures. Babiestend to like really
bright illustrationsand larger kind
of font if they'relooking at, you know,
that black and whitedifference. But again,
yes, it is nevertoo early to start.
Okay, great. So nowthat we've talked about
(03:12):
babies a little bit,let's talk about
toddlers again. We'rethinking maybe ages one
to four. What'shappening at this stage?
Oh my gosh, Kayla.
Toddlers are just likelittle sponges.
Their left hemispherebecomes more dominant
for language. Theystart to connect
sounds to meanings, andthen they practice
producing them. Thisis a huge step for
(03:32):
later decoding skills.
Everyday experiences likesinging songs, hearing rhymes,
pointing to words inbooks, all of these
things help them noticesound patterns like
cat and hat. So they'rebuilding these pre
-reading skills withouteven realizing it.
(03:52):
Exactly. They're kindof recycling brain
circuits meant forspeech and recognition,
and now they're usingthem for print. If
reading is part of dailylife, those circuits
grow stronger. Andthere's evidence that
kids who enjoyreading early on show
better cognitive skillsand even stronger
(04:13):
mental health inadolescence. So keeping that
in mind, it's reallyimportant to make that
reading experiencefun and engaging. We
want to follow ourchildren's lead. We don't
have to read everyword on the page. We
can just kind of talkabout the pictures
and the objects inthose pictures that our
toddlers are interestedin. We want to make
(04:34):
this a fun, exciting,a connection, a
nurturing type ofexperience to increase
toddlers' motivation tokeep exploring books.
I think, you know, Ihear that all the time
where parents getconcerned about, you
know, my toddler's notinterested in books.
And I think it's soimportant to remember
that we do want tokeep it a positive
experience and readingcan look so different.
(04:55):
Like they can readstanding up. You can find
ways to, you know,get them to even move
around during storytime. Maybe we're going
to act out thecharacters. I feel like
reading can look sodifferent at the stage.
Those are great tips.
Those are some greatstrategies that you
mentioned. And alongwith that, reading to
(05:16):
children when they'rein the high chair,
having a little snackis a great time. You've
got a captive audiencewho's kind of busy
doing something else,especially if you
have a toddler whois on the go, go, go
once they start walking.
Right. And so anotheropportunity is in the
bathtub. Yes. That'swhat I remember doing
with my kids. Yes,absolutely. So it's
good for all toddlers,but especially those
(05:37):
toddlers that arereally hard to pin down.
That's a great timeto start looking at
some picture books.
Those are great.
Another, I lovethinking outside the
box when it comes toreading with toddlers.
What are some other things thatparents can really
do to make themost of this stage?
So kind of, we've spokeabout a little bit,
but making that readinginteractive. So it's
(05:58):
a two-way street.
We want to ask ourtoddlers some pictures
to really get, or somequestions, excuse me,
to get them engagedwith that story. Pointing
and saying, what'sthat? letting your
child turn the pages, nomatter how quickly
they're going to want todo that is totally fine.
These little thingsactivate the brain's
reward centers andmake reading feel joyful
and a whole lot lesslike work and like
(06:20):
something that thegrownup is wanting them
to do. I love that.
Keeping reading fun. It'snot homework. I agree
so much that that isso important. So as
we move forward, I'vegot a seven-year-old.
How about ages fiveto seven? And that's
when, you know, mostkids are starting that
formal reading instruction.
I would love toknow what's happening
in my daughter's brainright now as she's
(06:40):
kind of in this stage.
Yeah, so this is areally pivotal time,
Kayla. This is wherethe real transformation
happens. Aroundages five to six,
called the novicestage, kids realize
that letters standfor sounds. And the brain starts
linking that visualrecognition of letters
with sound analysis.
(07:02):
So this is wherephonics comes in, right?
Yes, exactly. So byages six to seven,
again, these are justvery general ages,
kind of the typicalthings that we see,
but remembering thatchildren develop at
their own pace, kidsare going to move
into that decodingstage. They are starting
to sound out wordsusing phonics. The
(07:24):
visual word form areaof the brain starts
to specializingin print. And with
practice, the brainbecomes more efficient.
White matterconnections strengthen,
gray matter thins insome areas, showing
that the brain isstreamlining its processes.
And so by the end of the stage,some kids are reading fluently.
(07:45):
Exactly. That is the goal. Andthat's what typically happens.
Around age seven and beyond,reading starts to
feel pretty automatic.
The brain shiftsfrom heavy effort
in speech areas toquicker processing
and language areasfor comprehension.
Practice literallyrewires the brain,
(08:06):
making reading fasterand smoother. It is
so fun to hear littleones read at this
age. Like I said, mydaughter's seven and
she's starting toread. And it's just,
it's so amazing howit's like, I feel like
it went so fast whereit's like she was
just starting tokind of read and now
she can just read.
I know. Sometimes itseems like it happens
so quickly, but itreally is a process.
(08:26):
Yeah. Oh, for sure.
Well, that's justamazing. But we know
that some kids, thismay not go quite as
smooth. What aboutthings like dyslexia?
How does this impact?
Yes, you're right.
Sometimes it doesn't goexactly like this and
it can be concerningfor families, right?
But in dyslexia, thebrain literally processes
(08:47):
sounds differently.
The left brain readingcircuits may be
less active and kidsmight rely more on the
right side or the frontalareas. It's usually
a delay rather thana total difference.
And with early support,especially things
like phonics-basedteaching, the brain
(09:07):
can build newpathways and catch up.
Okay, so spottingchallenges early really
makes a difference.
But can you tell me too, what isphonics-based teaching?
So, well, absolutely.
So delayed babblingor a family history
can be early signs. Theearlier we support
kids, the better theiroutcome. So when we
think about phonics-based teaching, we're
putting a lot ofemphasis on the sounds
(09:29):
that letters make andreally supporting
children to make thatconnection between the
letter and its sound.
Okay, gotcha.
So, you know, that'sa great way, you know,
kind of gives us hopethat we have things
that we can do. There'stools out there,
you know, if kiddosneed support with
reading. um as we'rewrapping up here we've
learned so much todaybut what are your top
(09:50):
takeaways for parentsso i'm i'm probably
going to just soundlike a broken record
because you know youalways ask me this
question i feel likei have the same answer
but start readingearly even before birth
make reading part ofyour daily routines
i can't say enoughpositive things about
that nurturing,comforting bedtime story,
(10:13):
right? You want tokeep it interactive
and fun most of alland limit screens so
that books are reallyin the spotlight. For
school-age kids,combining phonics with
comprehension andabove all, be patient.
Every child learnsat their own pace
and are on their own trajectory.
That's such greatadvice. Thank you so
(10:34):
much for helping usto understand how
the brain and readinggrow together.
I love talking aboutthis topic, Kayla.
So really thepleasure is all mine.
That's our episode for today.
Thanks for listeningto Early Childhood on
the Go. Don't forgetto subscribe and share.
Stay curious.
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