Children with more books at home have less mental decline when older

By Alice Klein

Children who grow up in homes filled with books tend to have less cognitive decline when they reach old age, even when taking factors such as wealth and education into account. The finding suggests that early cognitive enrichment has long-lasting protective effects on the brain.

Previous studies have found that children with large home libraries are more likely to do well at school and in their later careers. Ella Cohn-Schwartz at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel and her colleagues wondered whether the …