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How to help your child’s development at home

Child language expert Hannah Walker discovers the shocking extent to which children who graduate school as high achievers have been influenced by the role of you (although we hate to admit it..), the parent, at home.

One major concern for language in children can often be found on social ‘mum networks’, the worry that their child isn’t picking up language as quickly as others may be. But don’t panic. Every child across the globe will go through the same language acquisition phases and pick up new abilities before they are able to text their way into your stress levels.. and it will happen. This innate ability to acquire and learn new words and phrases has to start somewhere. Not in primary school, not even in nursery but before that.. in those years way back when we’d cry over a spilt drink or tantrum over sharing our toys; when our first words were babbled.

Recently published research by the Washington University School of Medicine concluded that students whose parents were regularly involved with their language acquisition demonstrated higher language skills than those who did not have this basic influence. WOW! I here you say.. Ground breaking research it is not, yet still more teachers each year are faced with the added struggles of children who by the age of 4, cannot string a simple sentence together. Would you like this to be your child?

No?

Of course you wouldn’t, but for most adults surrounded by children, the unconscious downward convergence (technical term translating to ‘dumbing down’ your language) is already benefiting your young toddler’s linguistic development without you even realising.

So, you want to learn how to help? It’s easy!

And I can guarantee you’re already doing it. By parents adopting a ‘sing song’ tune that is often stereotyped with those all too familiar Cbeebies programmes and raising their voice to pitches never experienced before, yes dads even you, you are simplifying your language to the traits and patterns of your child. The ability to understand before they can produce the words they wish to speak is a result.

Deb Roy, parent to his Speech Home Project and his own daughter, demonstrated the benefits of the automatic change we imply on our speech, showing the progression that his child made through the encouragement of babbling.

As a little girl myself, one of my all-time favourite games to play was shops in my room. And it wouldn’t have differed much for any other girls at that age; serving the customers and working the tills as I soon would do 10 years later. The use of sociodramatic play, creating real life scenarios in an imaginary world isn’t always just a way to pass the time. Specific lexical fields, or word subjects for you and me, are used promoting language that would not be used in a primary school child’s vocabulary unless picked up from a natural environment. How often does the phrase ‘would you like cash back?’ come into a chat you’re having with your 4 year old? Unless you’re talking to the next Steve Jobs I highly doubt that’s the case.. but she’s picked up the language anyway and has the ability to use it in the right context.

An essential time period to be aware of in the development of your child's language is professionally known as the 'Critical Acquision Period' (play, creating real life scenarios in an imaginary world isn’t always just a way to pass the time. Specific lexical fields, or word subjects for you and me, are used promoting language that would not be used in a primary school child’s vocabulary unless picked up from a natural environment. How often does the phrase ‘would you like cash back?’ come into a chat you’re having with your 4 year old? Unless you’re talking to the next Steve Jobs I highly doubt that’s the case.. but she’s picked up the language anyway and has the ability to use it in the right context.

An essential time period to be aware of in the development of your child’s language is professionally known

as the ‘Critical Acquisition Period’ (the time period when your childrn are at school). A shocking case study to support this is Isabella, a little deaf mute child. Isabella was found at the age of 6 in a darkened room and left completely alone. However, there is a bright side to her story! Due to Isabella being in the CAP, her language was saved. Brown 1958 said “by the age of eight and one half Isabella was not easily distinguished from other ordinary children of her age.” But, not all have that happy ever after..

Now, at some point you were my age (some of you may wish you were now!) but I can guarantee you’ll think you had it harder from your parents than we do now? And you’re probably right.

But one thing that hasn’t changed is the importance of positive and negative reinforcement and this can also be used with language development. This national technique offers rewards for correct and progressive language as they grow up.  Praising your child on the use of a new connective instead of the basic ‘and’ or upgrading from a concrete noun to pre-modified is a step towards your child being able to read their first book to you, how proud would you be.

Virtuous errors (mistakes made through development) can be the steps towards learning new words so don’t stop them! ‘wa ga’ in a few months may become the concrete noun ‘water’ which will be used daily for the rest of their lives. Even the incorrect use of logic, for example when a child adds ‘ed’ to the verb ‘run’ for past tense, will be straighten itself out.

 From the youngest ages of 1, your child’s ability to understand language is greater than their ability to do anything else, crazy isn’t it. Those babbled noises and gurgles that you respond with the universal ‘yeah!’ will turn into complex sentences with that dreaded hint of sarcasm us teenagers love to fight back with in a flash. Then you’ll be wishing we were cute again.

 

So, when your hard work pays off and ‘dada’ or ‘muma’ is muttered, remember your little ray of sunshine will turn into a linguistic genius, able to produce a witty comeback or sarcastic response at the click of a button.