Reading aloud to kids may help them focus better, says a new study published in the journal Pediatrics.

“[They are] better able to sit still. Better able to get along with friends or peers and teachers,” lead researcher Dr. Alan Mendelsohn of NYU Langone Health told CBS.

Mendelsohn’s team studied how pediatric programs that promote positive parenting activities, such as reading out loud and playing pretend, affect children’s social and emotional development.

Researchers performed a randomized test after some children participated in their Video Interaction Project from birth through age 3.

At every visit, the families in the program were filmed reading or playing with their children. The film was then reviewed with a coach who helped parents learn more about their own powerful role in their child’s development.

Results showed that participating children had fewer attention problems and demonstrated fewer disruptive behaviors (such as hyperactivity and aggression) by the time they started school, 18 months after the program was completed.

The impact of the program was even greater for families who continued to participate after their children turned 3.