Researchers are encouraging families to read to their children before they start school as a new study from the University of South Australia has found that reading aloud can triple a child’s resilience at school, especially for children who had suffered maltreatment. Reading has long been associated with school readiness and scholastic outcomes, but for the first time, a study has shown the benefits of reading to mitigate some of the negative effects of adverse life circumstances in children. The researchers analysed data covering 65,083 children from 5 to 6 years old and found that one of the biggest predictors of resilience in both boys and girls was being read to at home. They defined resilience as having well-developed strengths when they started school in five domains including physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills, communication skills and general knowledge. “Boys and girls who were …