A good vocabulary is
vitally important to brain development because it serves as a framework
for all later learning. Children who hear more words during the day
spoken directly to them by their parents develop better vocabularies and
are better prepared for reading comprehension and critical thinking in
school. Without words, children cannot adequately express themselves and
are hard-pressed to catch up later in life.
A study by Professors
Betty Hart and Todd Risley in the mid-1990s found that children in
low-income homes hear approximately 600 words per hour, while children
in professional homes hear approximately 2,100 words per hour. This
difference of 1,500 words an hour adds up to millions of words by the
time a child reaches preschool age, and results in a poor child having
about half the words in her vocabulary of a child in a high-income
family by the time the child is 3 years-old, and this early gap
translates into later gaps in academic achievement.
More recently, a study reported in The New York Times
found that a vocabulary gap may exist as early as 18 months of age,
making the period from birth to early toddlerhood even more critical for
building language skills later in life.
In a statement released
yesterday, Next Generation’s Ann O’Leary says: “Professor [Anne]
Fernald’s research shows that by the time children are two years old,
there is already a gap in language proficiency of six months between
higher- and lower-income children. But income does not have to predict
life long learning outcomes… Parents have the power to help their
children succeed in learning and in life through small acts that can
have a big impact.”
Parents and caregivers can make a huge difference in
their children’s early learning, since vocabulary development happens
during the months and years that children spend most of their time in
parent or early care. Some concrete things that parents and caregivers
can do with babies and young toddlers to improve vocabulary include
reading to children for 15 minutes a day; narrating their day while
shopping at the supermarket or taking walks; and counting out loud.
Read More:
In The News:
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Video
Sandra Gutierrez, national director of Abriendo
Puertas/Opening Doors and Advisory Council member of Too Small to Fail,
talks about the power of parents [in Spanish]. >> |
