I've been reading about (and hearing from mom friends) the importance of talking to your baby. This article explained the 'word gap', the fact that babies from poor families hear fewer words every day than babies from richer families and, the researchers theorize that this is part of why they are behind in literacy in kindergarten.
Even before kindergarten, they found that a difference in how the children could process information could be seen at 18 months old!
The researchers emphasized the importance of direct, meaningful communication between caretakers and child. They specifically mentioned that overhearing phone conversations and words heard on TV didn't help and didn't make a difference in cognitive development.
TAKE AWAY: If you want your baby to grow into a communicative, literate child, talk to the baby about any and everything happening around you. Describe the colors of the objects. Ask them questions, even if they are rhetorical. Talk about the things in the environment. Ask lots of questions.
Annotated Bibliography
Closing the 'Word Gap' between rich and poor. NPR. http://www.npr.org/2013/12/29/257922222/closing-the-word-gap-between-rich-and-poor? 29 Dec 13
Babies from poor families hear fewer words everyday than babies from richer families and this leads to a disadvantage in school.
This seems to my experience. It's such an easy thing to do. Talk to your babies, talk to your children, read to them, sing to them!
ReplyDeleteWhen my mom, an elementary school counselor, suggested to a parent they read
to their child they said, "I thought that was the school's job."
I'll never forget that. How sad.
That is so so sad. The divide just gets wider and continues on through generations.
DeleteWe love books, not everyone does. If you are barely literate yourself how can you be expected to read to your children? If reading is hard or boring, maybe they just don't see the value of it.
I wish I could educate more people so that we could pull the next generation up. :(
Part of my drive to be in my profession. Help as many children as possible.
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