If you’ll be reading a bedtime story with your child tonight - choose a book without words...

If Goodnight Moon is getting old, find a new bedtime story - without words...

Researchers put some storybooks to the test and found that those without words, just pictures, were actually more effective at developing language skills in young children. 

Professor Daniela O’Neill, author of the study “First Language,” says looking at storybooks with kids exposes them to the kind of talk that is really important as they transition to school. Simplistic language in some favorite bedtime stories can limit the interaction. Parents and children who look at picture books together are more likely to develop their own story which encourages more complex thought and conversation skills.