Masks and Speech and Language Development
As it seems masks will likely be a part of our daily lives for at least a little while longer, here's what you need to know about the impact of masks on speech and language development and what you can do to ensure your child is still developing important early speech and language skills.
Imitation - It’s the Name of the Game!
Imitation is a young child’s primary tool for learning, and is crucial to the development of many important skills, from language development to social and cognitive functioning. Children are natural observers and they learn from watching you! They need to spend a great deal of time observing a new skill before trying it themselves. This is a big part of why we speech pathologists want you to talk constantly - the more language your child hears, the more likely they are to imitate you and eventually use words themselves.
Why does imitation matter?
At first glance, imitation might seem like a minor developmental step. Ultimately, we want kids doing things and saying things independently, right? While that’s true, imitation plays a crucial role in how your child will learn and develop new skills. We naturally learn from watching others, so imitation provides an important mechanism for learning from others before true language emerges. It is also important for bonding and the ability to relate to others. When a child watches Daddy preparing dinner in the kitchen and eventually gets up on a stool and starts pretending to stir food in a bowl, there is important bonding happening - the child now thinks, I can do what Daddy does!
There is still some debate about how and why babies begin to imitate. Several theories, including the theories of operant conditioning, associative learning and the operant intermodal mapping theory all try to explain what is sometimes referred to as the binding problem. Essentially what this refers to is how do children come to bind, or glue together, something that they have observed with the same behavior in themselves. Is it something innate that exists in all babies, is it a learned cognitive skill, is it something else that we don’t yet know? My position, as with most debates such as this, is that it is probably explained by some combination of many theories. If we look at things from Piaget's perspective (and his theory of imitative development), we can see that imitation happens in stages based on a child’s cognitive development, with each stage becoming more complex and more cognitively involved.
“We naturally learn from watching others, so imitation provides an important mechanism for learning from others before true language emerges. ”
The active intermodal mapping theory was proposed by Meltzoff and Moore to explain facial imitation. They believe that early imitation is a “matching-to-target process”. The infant uses a proprioceptive feedback (the sense of position and movement of the body) loop to determine if their actions, in this case facial expression, matches the model provided by the caregiver. This then serves as a basis for the infant to modify and correct their attempt to better match the model. Even though infants can’t see their own facial expressions, unless of course they are positioned in front of a mirror, they use proprioceptive feedback to evaluate their movements. This is similar to models of speech development in which somatosensory feedback is used to shape the accuracy of speech production.
And if you really want to go down a serious rabbit hole, do a quick internet search for mirror neurons. The mirror neuron system (MNS) is believed to play an important role in imitative behavior and action perception. To put it very, very simply (because I am certainly not an expert on the topic) mirror neurons respond to actions that we observe in others. That is, they fire the same way when we observe someone else performing an action as they do when we recreate that action ourselves. As this was first discovered in monkeys, this is a new take on the phrase “monkey see, monkey do”. As with many theories, much of the initial “hype” has been quieted. It is now believed that mirror neurons, while still very important, may only be a piece of the puzzle and not the sole explanation for human imitation and behavior development. Turns out we might be slightly different from monkeys. It’s an incredibly interesting and constantly developing topic and lots of research is ongoing. Again - serious rabbit hole.
It’s not just about the imitation of words.
A child’s ability to imitate the actions of others is an important method for acquiring new knowledge and skills. And here’s an important piece of information for you - imitation of actions precedes the imitation of words! This is something you might not necessarily pay attention to. I’ve always found parents to be much more excited by their child’s imitation of sounds and words than actions and gestures. But the imitation of actions and gestures is crucial! These early gestures often accompany first words (e.g., “bye bye” while waving, “oh no!” with hands up in the air). I bet your child imitated you throwing your hands up in the air before he or she said “oh no!” for the first time. This type of imitation is a huge developmental step and definitely something to be excited about!
How to increase imitation
Here are some simple ways you can work on building imitation in your everyday routines:
SLOW DOWN. Slow, repeated movements and slow, repeated words are the best “bait” for imitation. Start with a simple action. For example, tap your hands on the table, and model it repeatedly for your child, and model it slowly so that your child can follow along. This is the same rule for trying to get your child to imitate sounds and words. Repeated, slow vocalizations and words are best. A few other ideas for imitating actions - try jumping, clapping, reaching, pointing, poking, silly faces - really whatever it takes to get your child interested, the sky's the limit! Be sure to pair a fun vocalization or word with your action. Get creative here and have fun (e.g., “wheee!”, “boom!”, “uh oh!”, “go!”).
Sing! Singing songs, better yet, repetitive songs, is another great way to enhance imitation. Think about the annoyingly repetitive songs that kids love (I’m looking at you Baby Shark). There is a reason they are so appealing - they are easier to sing along with than fast songs that have rapidly changing vocabulary. Even tapping piano keys or banging on a drum can be fun ways to get your child engaged and imitating. One of my favorite tools to increase imitation in therapy is an echo mic. You can usually find these at the dollar store or online, but if all else fails, even talking into a cup or bowl can have a fun echoey effect and can make your child more likely to imitate you.
Back off. While we’re on the subject of verbal imitation, there is one crucial element that must be discussed which may seem counterintuitive to many parents - don’t put pressure on your child to imitate! I know many parents are desperate to hear their child’s first words, which is absolutely understandable. But putting pressure on your child to talk, and by this I mean instructing them to “say [insert desired word]” or asking questions like “what’s this called” is extremely counterproductive to imitation. This type of pressure disrupts the flow of conversational turn taking and, more importantly, just isn’t fun! In order for your child to imitate you, you need to be the most fun and engaged version of yourself possible. Trust me on this one - take the pressure off! Focus instead on modeling slow, repetitive words and exaggerating your intonation to really get your child engaged.
Wait and See. Another important thing to note is to make sure you are giving your child an opportunity to imitate. This means you must be patient and wait to see if they are going to imitate the action or word you have modeled. If you don’t give them a chance, it’s probably not going to happen. This just means taking a brief pause, maybe looking at your child expectantly, before trying again.
What if your child just won’t imitate you? Turn the tables on the situation and start imitating your child instead! This can be just as effective in initiating the all important conversational turn taking that happens when your child imitates you. If your child starts cooing or babbling, simply repeat back the vocalization (to the best of your ability). Babies enjoy these sorts of verbal games and interactions. And there is a good chance that once your child experiences this, they will start imitating you as well.
One final note - as mentioned above, children are natural (and constant) observers. Be aware of what you are modeling, not just language-wise, but in your daily habits and routines. For example, a child who sees mom and dad reading regularly is probably going to want to be a reader too. A child who sees mom and dad watching TV constantly is probably going to want to watch more TV.
Don’t be discouraged if your child isn’t imitating right away. Remember, kids often need to see (and hear) things many, many times before they are going to try it for themselves. Keep at it! Even if your child isn’t trying a single action or sound or word, the modeling and play you are doing is still having a huge positive impact. Imitation will come. If this goat can do it, so can you! And just for good measure, here is one more cute baby video. You’re welcome.
For more tips on encouraging imitation and early language development check out my Let’s Get Talking! course here, and for a deeper dive into the topic, check out the references below.
Gallese, V., Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., & Rizzolatti, G. (1996). Action recognition in the premotor cortex. Brain, 119(2), 593-609.
Lepage, J. F., & Théoret, H. (2007). The mirror neuron system: grasping others’ actions from birth? Developmental science, 10(5), 513-523.
Meltzoff, A. N., & Decety, J. (2003). What imitation tells us about social cognition: a rapprochement between developmental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 358(1431), 491-500.
Meltzoff, A. N., & Moore, M. K. (1997). Explaining facial imitation: A theoretical model. Infant and child development, 6(3‐4), 179-192.
Meltzoff, A. N., & Moore, M. K. (1977). Imitation of facial and manual gestures by human neonates. Science, 198(4312), 75-78.
Di Pellegrino, G., Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., Gallese, V., & Rizzolatti, G. (1992). Understanding motor events: a neurophysiological study. Experimental brain research, 91(1), 176-180.
Piaget, J. (2013). Play, dreams and imitation in childhood. Routledge.
How to Use the Holiday Season to Build Language Skills
With the holidays right around the corner, this month’s blog post will focus entirely on how to use this season to build language skills in young children. Although the holiday season might look a little different this year, with many of us planning small intimate gatherings, or maybe only visiting with family and friends over Zoom, it’s still a great time to incorporate some new activities (and new vocabulary!) into your child’s daily routine. Here are some ideas for you to try this holiday season.
Take Full Advantage of Family Time, even if it’s virtual
Yes, we know that in general too much screen time isn’t beneficial, but screen time for Facetime or Zoom is a different story. In this case, your child is interacting. Why does this matter? Children learn language through interacting with others! So be sure to encourage your baby or toddler to join you for these gatherings. Keep their attention by pointing to and describing everyone who is on the call and help them to interact by modeling and/or prompting simple language.
Learn About Other Cultures
My family will be celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas in the coming months, but there are so many special holiday celebrations during this time, including Hannukah, Kwanza, and Diwali, so this is a great time to learn about holiday traditions that we may be less familiar with. If you read my blog post on increasing the diversity of your child's library, you know the importance of exposing young children to cultures and experiences that are different from their own. And there are some great books to help us to learn more about holiday traditions. Here are a few of my favorite holiday books - and be sure to check your local library and ask your librarian for recommendations!
Hanukkah Bear by by Eric A. Kimmel
All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah by Emily Jenkins
My First Kwanzaa by Karen Katz
Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story by Angela Shelf Medearis
Binny's Diwali by Thrity Umrigar
Diwali (Celebrate the World) by Hannah Eliot
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto
Strega Nona’s Gift by Tomie dePaola
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell
New Things Everywhere!
Holiday decorations, holiday food, holiday activities = lots of new vocabulary to model! Are you decorating your home this year? Talk about the decorations with your child as you are putting them up. Describe what each item is, point out colors and textures, and talk about where you are placing each item (think of simple prepositions like on, under, next to). Exploit the novelty here - you’ll have a captive audience. Think your infant is too young to learn from this activity? No way! Babies are constantly learning and absorbing the language around them, so don’t feel silly completing this activity with a very young baby. Maybe you’re decorating a christmas tree - talk about each ornament as you hang it on the tree. If your child is old enough, you can have them describe the ornaments and decorations.
So many new words to model this time of year - sleigh, snow, snowman, scarf, mittens, menorah, dreidel, star, turkey, stuffing, pumpkin, pie, just to name a few!
Singing holiday songs together is another great way to teach new vocabulary. Even if your child isn’t singing along yet, I bet you will get their attention when you start singing a song that’s new and different! Your child may dance, babble, and even try singing along.
Building a gingerbread house is a great activity to do together. You can talk about each type of candy and where you are placing it (think colors, shapes, sizes - the sky's the limit!).
Photo by Elly Fairytale from Pexels
Use Time in the Kitchen to Build Language
If you plan to do a lot of cooking around the holidays, this is another great opportunity to model some new language. And the vocabulary building doesn’t just happen in the kitchen. The grocery store is a great place to find new words. Talk about what you’re buying (and even what you’re not buying!). Point to items and describe them as you make your way through the store. You probably have several items on your shopping list that are new and different, and specific to this time of year. I know for Thanksgiving in particular, I buy lots of ingredients that are not on my weekly list. Yams, a whole turkey, cranberries - these are all very specific to the holiday, at least for my kitchen! This is a great opportunity to build vocabulary.
Once you are in the kitchen, whether your child is old enough to help out or not, talk about the foods you’re using and each step in the recipes you’ll be completing. Holiday baking can be a great way to get your toddler involved in the kitchen. Here are some great, simple recipes to try out:
Talk about each step of the recipe, then decorate! Lots of opportunities for modeling simple words - colors, design, etc.
Talk about the recipe as you’re making it, then talk about decorating - eyes, mouth, hat, buttons, shoes, anything!
I also love the idea of making mini cookies and having a holiday tea party. This is a great opportunity for pretend play and lots of language.
Not into baking? Check out these festive snacks:
Talk about each part of the snowman or turkey as you build it!
Craft Ideas Galore
There is no shortage of holiday craft ideas. Whether you enjoy crafting or not, this is a great time of year to try some new activities! This is a great time to model new vocabulary, describe objects (think size, shape, color, texture, etc.) and encourage imitation. Exclamatory words can be a lot of fun to use during craft activities. These are words like “push!”, “oops!”, “yuck!”, “yay!”, to name a few. These can be very motivating for your child to imitate. If your child isn’t quite yet to imitate verbally, you can incorporate the imitation of actions into craft activities. Check out this post for lots of examples of exclamatory words and actions, and to learn how to use these to build language skills. Craft activities can be used to model new action words like cut, stick, fold, and draw, as well as concepts like big/small, tall/short, in/out, and on/off.
Here are some fun ideas to try:
Holiday Discovery Boxes - this is a sensory activity which is also great for building language. This one is Christmas themed, but it can be any holiday!
For more strategies and tips to use during any of the activities listed above, be sure to check out my Let’s Get Talking! online course.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels
However you are celebrating the holidays this year, I hope it’s a wonderful time for you and your family. Take time to relax and enjoy some quality time making memories with your loved ones.
Happy Holidays from our family to yours!
Making the Most of Telepractice - Tips for Parents
For many SLPs and parents, telepractice is the new normal. In all its glory of poor internet connections, delayed feedback, and cats walking across computer screens. Despite some of these annoyances, many of us are finding that telepractice is a totally feasible way to continue providing therapy for our clients, and there are actually some really great benefits to it. Whether we like it or not, we all need to figure out how to make it work.
The great news is that research has shown outcomes for treatment conducted via telepractice are similar to those of treatment delivered in person, and the American Speech-Language Hearing Association supports telepractice as an effective way to implement therapy.
One benefit of telepractice is that it may make the logistics of working therapy sessions into your child’s daily life easier. No more long drives to the clinic, or worrying about getting stuck in traffic. All you need to do is open up the computer and you’re ready for therapy. SLPs are also now able to provide therapy to children living in rural or remote areas where there are no services available nearby. We also know that children do better in therapy and have better outcomes when parents are involved, so you can take this change in service delivery as a great opportunity to become more involved in your child’s therapy! You are now, after all, going to be right next to your child (or at least very close by) during their therapy sessions. Depending on the age of your child and their goals in therapy, you might even be helping to facilitate therapy in partnership with your child’s SLP - what better way to get involved and find out first hand exactly what your child is working on!
But before we can all reap the benefits of this new mode of therapy delivery, we all need to put in some work on the front end to set ourselves up for success. Figuring out the logistics of telepractice as well as the expectations of everyone involved can be extremely helpful to do either prior to or during your first session. So here, I’d like to share some tips for parents (and SLPs!) to help get the most out of our telepractice sessions.
1. Establish open communication between you and your child’s SLP.
This step is crucial. First of all, be honest about what you can contribute to the therapy sessions. If your child’s SLP asks for you to sit next to your child for the entire session, but you have other little ones at home who need your attention, make sure the SLP is aware. Or maybe you work from home and can’t be present 100% of the time. These factors may impact how you schedule your sessions. By discussing this early on, you can work together to figure out a set-up that will work for you both. The SLP isn’t trying to be demanding, they are trying to set your child up for success. And you aren’t trying to avoid your child’s therapy sessions (because of course you want them to be successful!), but you likely have many other responsibilities at home. Your child’s SLP will work with you to determine what will work and what won’t.
Discussing this with your child’s SLP right off the bat will also help you to determine if teletherapy is a good fit for you. For many parents it’s simply not feasible to be present for the entire session, or there are other elements that won’t work for your child and your family.
2. Be very clear about expectations.
This is related to #1 - once you have established open communication, make sure you are aware of exactly what your child’s SLP is expecting of you. You should also be very clear about what you are anticipating or expecting of your child’s SLP. For example, some children benefit most from a parent-coaching model, meaning the SLP will be coaching YOU on how to facilitate strategies and techniques at home. This will depend on things like the child’s age and specific goals. This may also be something that is implemented for children who simply can’t attend to therapy delivered via a screen. So the SLP will work with you directly rather than working directly with your child. Being aware of this model at the beginning of therapy will be extremely important in its success. If you are uncomfortable with this type of therapy, discuss it with your SLP, and try to come to an agreement on a model that will work best for you both.
You should also make sure that your child is aware of the expectations for a teletherapy session. They need to understand that even though the SLP is on the computer screen, rather than sitting in front of them, there are expectations for following directions and attending to the therapy activities as much as possible. What is the SLP expecting? Does the child need to sit and attend for the entire session? Will the session include more drill based practice or is it play based? For very young children, an entire session of drill based practice is rarely feasible! If the child needs breaks or gets distracted, that’s ok. You and your SLP can figure out how to redirect and determine a practice to play ratio that is appropriate and works for everyone.
Be a partner with your child’s SLP. In many cases, children need some sort of behavior management or redirection, which is very tough to do from the other side of the screen, so often times we need your help! Make sure you are aware of this very early on in therapy.
3. Work with your SLP to tailor sessions to your child’s needs.
Remember that you know your child best. You know how they are likely to react to therapy delivered on the computer. Can your child sit in front of a computer screen for 50 minutes? Maybe not. Maybe 25 minutes would be better. Provide input to help your child’s SLP structure therapy so that your child can be successful. It’s not always possible for the SLP to change your child’s therapy schedule - remember they want the best for your child, but they are also juggling many clients on their caseload and may be dealing with administrative constraints on scheduling, amongst other things. However, feel free to bring this up and have a discussion about possible options.
Another area to consider here is the structure of the therapy sessions themselves and the activities your child’s SLP is using. In all therapy sessions, but especially over telepractice, SLPs are constantly striving to keep children involved, engaged, and most of all having fun in therapy sessions! It can be especially challenging to do this when we aren’t able to work with kids face to face. Therefore, it is especially important that you provide input about your child’s preferences and ideas for motivators during teletherapy sessions. You may want to discuss toys and materials that you can gather for your child beforehand which will lead to a more successful session.
Since we are only interacting with your child virtually, there may be details that we miss or things that are going on “behind the scenes” that we are not aware of. So please share! This will benefit your child and help you and your SLP to function as a team.
Also be sure to consider the best time of day for therapy for your child and your family. Will other children be home at a certain time of day? What is your schedule? Are there meetings or other tasks you need to attend to? When is your child at their best? There are clearly a lot of factors here, and we can’t always schedule sessions perfectly, but trying to find the best possible time will be extremely helpful.
4. Figure out the technology.
I know this is challenging! We’ve all had to deal with slow internet connections and frustrating frozen screens. BUT this is an important thing to consider before you start teletherapy. We don’t want technology to interfere with your child having a great session! First of all, what devices are available to use and which ones are best preferred by all - you, your child, and the SLP. Are there activities the SLP will be using that are easier to complete on a computer? Try to discuss this beforehand or in your first session. Maybe you don’t have a computer available and sessions will be completed on a tablet or phone. Make sure your SLP is aware so they can adjust the session to fit. What about internet issues? If you are finding this to be a challenge, can you limit streaming of games and videos by others in the house during the session? This may be something to consider when you determine the best time for scheduling your sessions. Obviously, this can’t always be avoided, but it is definitely something to think about!
5. Figure out the space and setting.
Where will your child be during teletherapy sessions? Do you have access to a quiet space where your child can sit and attend? Also consider what kind of session this will be - is the SLP working directly with the child only or is this a parent coaching session? For younger children you may need to set up a place on the floor where you can spread out some toys for play, and place the computer on a chair so the video captures you and your child. For older children, they may need a desk to sit at in an area free of distractions, if possible. If this isn’t possible and siblings will be present, or in the near vicinity, discuss this with your child’s SLP - maybe you can brainstorm ways to include siblings in the therapy session!
“Be a partner with your child’s SLP. ”
6. Most importantly - go with the flow!
This is key. Understand that sometimes all of the planning in the world won’t guarantee a perfect session. I think we all know that this applies to in person sessions too, but with everyone trying to navigate this new type of therapy, it’s especially important to recognize that things don’t always go as planned. Know that it’s ok to jump ship and try something new and different if what was planned isn’t working. This applies to your child’s SLP and to you! In many cases we need to follow the child’s lead in order to maintain a successful session.
Also, try to keep track of what is working and what isn’t working. This applies to what's working within your child’s therapy sessions and during the rest of the week. What strategies are the most helpful? Write these down so you can troubleshoot with your child’s SLP during your sessions. And be sure to share any successes you’ve had as well. We love hearing about the progress your child is making!
Remember that you are the expert on your child and you know your child best, so as SLPs we always want your input to help us in designing and implementing our therapy. This is especially important in telepractice.
Remember to be patient. Be patient with your child, with yourself, and with your child’s SLP. This is new for most of us and we are all doing our best to navigate it together. There will be good days and bad days, and that’s OK! Just know that everyone is working hard to help your child succeed.
The Dos and Don'ts of "Baby Talk": An Intro to Parentese
Try this - out loud, say “hello” the way you would if you were just seeing your baby for the first time in the morning. You probably said it slow, with an exaggerated intonation, a higher pitch, and maybe the vowels, especially the “o” at the end, was lengthened. Now say “hello” they way you would to a colleague or friend you were meeting for coffee. Pretty different right? You just demonstrated parentese.
What is Parentese?
Parentese is that special way we talk when we interact with babies. It involves several aspects of speech. For one, we speak slower. This helps your baby to focus on all of the different consonant and vowel sounds you’re using and eventually learn to use those sounds themselves. When speaking slower, we also tend to elongate our vowels. By making them longer, we are basically making them easier to process and learn. Since vowels are the first sounds babies learn to produce, this is a really helpful element of parentese. When we elongate our vowels, they are very clear and easy for your baby to listen to and learn from. For example, if I said the word “head” versus “hit”, these two words include two different vowel sounds. If I produce them slowly, and elongate the vowels, it will make it easier to hear the difference between these two sounds, and for babies, make it easier for them to learn to produce these sounds themselves.
Patterns of prosody and intonation are also important aspects of parentese. Simply put, this refers to the stress we put on specific parts of words and the way our voices go up and down in a melodic way. Here’s an example: if you were to say “I’m sorry!” it would mean something very different from “I’m sorry?”, right? Same words, but saying them in different ways can actually change the meaning. That’s what I mean by intonation. In parentese, you are exaggerating these patterns. Your voice goes up and down pretty drastically within your words and phrases. Most of us do this automatically when we see a baby! In fact, parentese is something universal. Parents using all different languages use similar patterns when interacting with babies. Using an exaggerated prosody actually helps babies learn where one word ends and another begins. It also helps them to process speech sounds and learn how to produce speech themselves. Plus, producing speech in this way exaggerates the natural rhythm of our language, which, in turn, helps your baby to learn it.
We also use an overall higher pitch. This really helps to get your babies attention. It will probably also get your baby smiling and focused on your face and your words. All good things! Using a higher pitch is something that we do naturally when interacting with babies (most people do this when talking to animals, too!). Getting your baby to focus on your face is a great thing - this is how they will learn to associate specific sounds with certain lip movements, which is how babies first start learning speech sounds.
So the three common features of parentese are:
Slower rate of speech
Exaggerated intonation
Higher pitch
What do these accomplish?
Slower rate of speech: by speaking slower, specifically elongating your vowels within words, helps your baby to listen to and learn these sounds.
Exaggerated intonation: by making your pitch rise and fall in an exaggerated way, you are helping your baby to learn the natural rhythm of language and learn where one word ends and another begins.
Higher pitch: using a higher pitch helps your baby to focus on you and maintain attention to what you are saying.
Not “Baby Talk”
When we think of traditional “baby talk”, we think of phrases like, “what a cute wittle baby!”, and, “dada gonna get your feetsies!”. As a speech-language pathologist, phrases like this make me cringe. Why would we want to model poor grammar and incorrect speech production for babies? Parentese is not “baby talk”. There is no need to simplify your speech in a way that makes your grammar incorrect, or substitute incorrect sounds for correct ones. You wouldn’t want your child speaking like that when they start talking, right?
When using parentese, you can simplify your sentences and phrases by making them shorter or using less complex words, but you maintain correct grammar and use real words. This is key. If you use real words, your baby will start to learn real words.
Doesn’t It Sound Silly?
I guess some people might say it sounds silly, but who really cares? It’s fun to sound silly! And think about all of the silly cartoons that kids love - lots of silly voices there! Remember, this isn’t “baby talk”. You are using REAL words and correct grammar. Using parentese helps to gain and maintain your baby’s attention. And it’s just more FUN. Parentese will help to get your baby focused on your face so that they can watch how you say sounds and words and learn how to produce them.
The point of speaking this way is to help your baby to learn patterns of speech and language. To enhance their development using some really simple strategies. You are helping them to learn how to use sounds and words - what’s better than that? Parentese has actually been studied pretty extensively, and researchers consistently find that this style of speaking leads to more advanced language skills down the road.
Tips for Using Parentese
To Summarize - here are some dos and don’ts to keep in mind as you are using this effective strategy with your baby:
DON’T simplify words. No need to use the word “wittle”, ever. Use real words when talking to your baby. By doing this, you are modeling clear speech and language for your baby to learn from.
DO use grammatical sentences. It’s ok to simplify your language, but keep it grammatical. For example, instead of saying, “Baby want milk?”, you could say, “Oh! You want milk!” - notice that the phrase didn’t become any more complex, and the grammar is intact.
DO read your baby’s signs. If they get excited or wide eyed at a certain word or phrase, go with it! Repeat and elaborate. Maybe your baby loves a certain part of a song or a phrase in a book. Repeat it! You are helping your baby to focus and maintain attention to you.
DO allow time for reciprocal interactions. Allow your baby a chance to respond to you when you are speaking to them using parentese. Babies learn language best through reciprocal social interactions, so allow your baby to take a turn. Even if they don’t vocalize in response, smiling and eye gaze can count as a “turn” in conversation.
DO talk about what you’re doing. Use mealtime, bathtime, diaper changes, etc. as an opportunity to provide language using parenteese. Talk about what you are seeing when you are out for a walk or at the grocery store.
DON’T feel pressured to do this perfectly! No guilt trips allowed. You have enough things to think about as a new parent, so don’t make this something else that you need to worry about. Chances are, you are using most of these techniques already. The fact that you are even thinking about these strategies already means you’re doing a great job!
Stay tuned for our newest course covering gross motor, fine motor, speech, language and play development from birth through 12 months of age, which will include more tips on how to use parentese as well as lots of other strategies to encourage speech and language development in babies! This course will provide new parents with a holistic approach to their child’s development including mindfulness strategies to promote emotional well-being for all family members.
For further reading, here are some references for the studies I’ve mentioned above:
Ferjan Ramírez, N., Lytle, S. R., Fish, M., & Kuhl, P. K. (2019). Parent coaching at 6 and 10 months improves language outcomes at 14 months: A randomized controlled trial. Developmental science, 22(3), e12762.
Ferjan Ramirez, N., & Kuhl, P. K. (2019). The emergence of conversational turns as a function of parent coaching on language. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 146(4), 2924-2924.
Fernald, A., & Kuhl, P. (1987). Acoustic determinants of infant preference for motherese speech. Infant behavior and development, 10(3), 279-293.
Liu, H. M., Kuhl, P. K., & Tsao, F. M. (2003). An association between mothers’ speech clarity and infants’ speech discrimination skills. Developmental science, 6(3), F1-F10.
Ramírez, N. F., Lytle, S. R., & Kuhl, P. K. (2020). Parent coaching increases conversational turns and advances infant language development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(7), 3484-3491.
Ramírez-Esparza, N., García-Sierra, A., & Kuhl, P. K. (2017). Look who’s talking NOW! Parentese speech, social context, and language development across time. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 1008.
Thiessen, E. D., Hill, E. A., & Saffran, J. R. (2005). Infant-directed speech facilitates word segmentation. Infancy, 7(1), 53-71.
Trainor, L. J., & Desjardins, R. N. (2002). Pitch characteristics of infant-directed speech affect infants’ ability to discriminate vowels. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 9(2), 335-340.
Why a Diverse Library Is Important for Your Child
The events of the past several weeks have prompted many important discussions regarding topics like implicit bias, intersectionality, and white privilege, among others. Many of us have realized the need to stop and reflect on our own practices, both personal and professional. I am fortunate to work in a department with individuals who are challenging me to rethink my own biases through discussions surrounding how these important issues impact our teaching practices and the overall culture of our university. As a group we are exploring resources like this guide to allyship (https://guidetoallyship.com/) and the powerful and informative book, So You Want to Talk About Race? by Ijeoma Oluo. Through this process, we are reexamining our classroom materials, assignments, and even the resources we provide to our students. This eye-opening process has also made me realize the need to reexamine my clinical materials - things like picture cards and children’s books that I use during therapy sessions.
When it comes to children’s books in particular, I’ve realized that the level of diversity in my own library is extremely low. There is no excuse for the fact that I hadn’t thought about this until now, but I can say with absolute certainty I will not overlook this again.
Here I’d like to share some information about the importance of including a diverse selection of books when reading with your child as well as some of my favorite books with diverse characters, books that explore diversity, and tips for increasing your child’s exposure to a variety of races and cultures.
The Importance of Early Exposure
It may come as a surprise when I tell you that very young children actually show racial biases. Even infants are aware of race. We can’t ignore the research. Babies are aware of individuals of a different race as early as 3 months of age. You can find evidence here, here, and even a meta-analysis here. And these are just a few examples. Infants are aware of people who look different from themselves and their immediate family. No, this doesn’t mean that your baby is doing anything wrong, or that you’ve somehow taught them to react this way, it just means that babies naturally respond when they encounter people who look different from those that typically surround them. What this also indicates is that babies are already paying attention! Which makes this issue even more important early on. Findings of this research study suggest that infants gradually become more sensitive to faces from their own ethnic group (due to greater exposure to these faces) as opposed to other racial groups. Again, this demonstrates that infants are already paying attention to racial differences.
It's normal for kids to react when they encounter someone who they perceive as being “different” from the people they are normally surrounded by. Again, kids can be very observant. They might seem nervous or hesitate to interact as freely with someone who they perceive as “different”. By exposing them early on to a variety of races and cultures, we can help to normalize these differences. And celebrate these differences.
Embrace differences
If we want diversity to become a natural part of a child’s life, we need to expose them to it early on. The earlier the better. There are several ways to accomplish this. One way is to help your child to learn how to learn from other cultures. How do you do this? By setting a good example! Talking about cultural differences and embracing these differences can help to give your child awareness. Even if you think your child is too young to understand exactly what you’re talking about, this early exposure can still be very meaningful. For example, if you’re reading a book that mentions a cultural practice that is different from your own, maybe a certain way to celebrate a holiday, elaborate on that and talk about these differences with your child. Yes, even your infant or toddler! Regardless of how much they understand, you’re still providing some great language input, including new vocabulary and concepts, all while exposing your child to these great cultural differences.
Another great way to set an example is by promoting and discussing inclusive messages. By inclusive, I mean messages that express equality and kindness to those who are different from ourselves. And this can actually be accomplished through book reading! Selecting books with characters of several different racial backgrounds is a great way to do this. You can also use books to teach your child stories of empowerment. These stories help to teach your little one that they can achieve their big dreams. Several of the books I have listed below include stories of Black individuals, and some, in particular, feature Black female characters and stories of empowerment. Selecting empowering stories that feature diverse characters can help to teach your child about equality and compassion for all as well as send messages of positivity and perseverance. You can’t go wrong!
Remember the Importance of Imitation
We have to remember that children learn by imitating us. We can’t think that educating our children will be enough, we must educate ourselves as well! As I mentioned before, this month has been a call to action for me to educate myself as much as possible. If we address our own prejudices head on, it will be much easier to pass those desired behaviors and beliefs to our children. If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts, you know I always harp on modeling - modeling good speech and language. Here I’m talking about modeling kindness towards others. The principles are the same. This is how children learn. So first off, check your own behaviors/prejudices/beliefs and make sure you educate yourself. Even before your child can talk, they are observing the world and learning from it, and learning from your actions and behaviors. When we are open to learning, we can instill that behavior in children.
Tips for Diversifying Your Reading Materials:
Here are some simple tips to help you to diversify your child’s library and guide you in incorporating all of the important principles discussed above.
Check the library! Right now many libraries across the country are featuring books by Black authors and books that feature diverse characters. Take advantage of this and use your library’s recommendations. Explore the book shelves in the children’s section - you’ll most likely find a few books you’ve never seen before. Look specifically for books that feature characters of different races and cultures. If you feel your local library is lacking in this area, request books by authors of color that address diversity.
Elaborate. As you are reading, elaborate on topics and characters. Point out and discuss the character’s differences. If you feel the text itself is too advanced for your little one, that’s ok! Improvise. Some of the text might feel uncomfortable for you to try and summarize, and that’s ok, just do your best. Remember, even talking about pictures is great. Having open conversations with your child about race and culture sets a great example for them and provides them with a foundation of knowledge and understanding which they will benefit from now and in the future.
Keep researching! Ask your librarian for book recommendations and ask friends for tips on how they are handling these important issues with children of similar ages.
Refresher on how to keep reading time FUN. If you’ve taken my mini-course on how to make reading fun for you and your child, these tips should sound very familiar. First of all, when it comes to reading with your child, YOU make the rules. You get to decide how long you read, what you read, and how you’re reading. Have fun with it. Make up words to go along with pictures, and talk about pictures in new ways. Point to things in pictures and discuss what you’re looking at. As I mentioned previously, if there is too much text on the page, simplify or make up your own. The point is to keep your child engaged and interested. Especially when reading with young children, try to keep your language simple so they can easily follow along. And finally, make sure you’re having fun! If you are enjoying this time, chances are your child will too. Use this time to focus on bonding and helping your child to learn.
Last but not least, here are some books that I love which feature diverse characters and stories as well as a link to a compilation of antiracism resources which was shared with me by my wonderful sister (who I would highly recommend following on Instagram at www.instagram.com/paigeallbookedup if you’re looking for fantastic book reviews for adults!).
Antiracism Resources:
Books I Love (click on the image to link to a black-owned Independent bookstore where these can be purchased):
Think Big, Little One
by Vashti Harrison
Skin Like Mine
by Latisha M. Perry
Mae Among the Stars
by
Roda Ahmed
Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad
by Ellen levine
Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library
by
Carole Boston Weatherford
Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race
by Margot Lee Shetterly
Fly High!: The Story of Bessie Coleman
by Louise Borden and Mary Kay Kroeger
Black Women in Science: A Black History Book for Kids
by Kimberly Brown Pellum
Teach Your Dragon About Diversity
by Steve Herman
Who Will You Be?
by Andrea Pippins
Hush! a Thai Lullaby
by Minfong Ho
Please, Baby, Please
by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee
What are your favorite books to read with your child?
Babble - Why Do Babies Do It?
What is babble?
First things first - what counts as babble? You’ve probably heard your baby making all sorts of interesting sounds, and using many of those sounds to communicate with you. You know which cry means “I’m hungry” and which one means “change my diaper!”. You may also be hearing things like laughter and blowing raspberries and vowel sounds like “ooo” and “aaa”. But babble, specifically, is a vocalization that consists of consonant and vowel combinations. They begin in reduplicated form in which the same consonant-vowel combination is repeated multiple times (e.g., “ba ba ba ba”), and then, as your child gets better at combining sounds, will be variegated, meaning different consonant-vowel combinations (e.g., “ba di ma”). Babble is an incredibly important milestone because it represents a transition to more meaningful communication and the building of social relationships. It means that your baby is in the early stages of learning to use true speech sounds for communication. These sound combinations are very similar to those your baby will use when they produce the much anticipated first words. Research shows us that the onset of babble is a strong predictor of a babies first words.
Babble is an incredibly important milestone because it represents a transition to more meaningful communication and the building of social relationships.
What’s the point?
Basically, babble represents your baby beginning to practice the sounds that will later be used in speech. Initially, when babies begin babbling, it appears to have no purpose, just random sounds produced at random times. Although this might not have a specific communicative purpose, this random babbling is incredibly important for your baby’s overall ability to communicate. This type of sound play is allowing your baby to practice combining different sounds which will eventually allow them to combine sounds into meaningful words. It’s like learning to play the piano - initially you have no timing and coordination and it might sound like random notes and a random tapping of keys. But eventually (with enough practice) it will sound like a familiar melody. As soon as your fingers have the coordination and dexterity to execute a sequence of notes correctly you can move from playing chopsticks to Bethoven. Similarly, the more your child practices combining various consonants and vowels, the better control they will have over their articulators (i.e., the tongue, lips, jaw, etc. that allow us to produce clear speech). Just like having control over your fingers to play a tune on the piano.
You will notice that as you speak, your baby watches your face closely. This is how they learn to produce sounds themselves and will associate the movement of your lips and tongue with the sounds they hear. This is why consonant sounds like /b/, /p/, and /m/ are typically the first to emerge. Go to a mirror and watch yourself say “mom”. You will see something very clear - your lips are closed while you make the sound /m/! Now watch yourself say “car” - not so clear is it? The /k/ sound and especially the /r/ sound typically develop later than /m/.
“The more your child practices combining various consonants and vowels, the better control they will have over the articulators . Just like having control over your fingers to play a tune on the piano.”
Development of babble
Eventually your baby will produce a range of different consonant sounds, but will ultimately decide on a few favorites - consonants that are produced more frequently and repetitively. Long strings of babble will then turn into shorter utterances, more similar to adultlike words. Your baby is always listening, and the more language he is exposed to, the easier it will be to mimic your words.
You will also start to hear changes in intonation and stress in your baby’s babble. For example, some syllable strings might end with a rising intonation, as if your baby were asking a question. Another important thing to pay attention to - pauses. Your baby might produce a long string of babble, then stop and look at you, as if waiting for a response. This is because they are learning how to take conversational turns and converse with you. Be sure to talk back - your baby will notice! Babies understand that their babble can get a reaction out of you. This interesting study shows us that babies can use their babble to re-engage parents and even manipulate the way you are interacting with them. Pretty amazing!
What can you do to help?
Since babbling is an important stepping stone to language (and those long awaited first words!) it should be constantly reinforced and encouraged. Here are a few tips and strategies to encourage this important development in your child:
Talk, talk, and talk some more! Seriously, you can’t talk too much. Talk about what you’re doing throughout the day (“Let’s get out the coffee! We need to scoop the coffee, and then get some water, and then push the button”, “Time to get the bath going. Turn on the water - make sure its warm. Then we need some bubbles!”, “Look at all these apples. Should we get some apples? I love apples. Daddy likes apples. Let’s put them in a bag”). Talk about anything and everything. This might feel strange at first, since your baby isn’t going to talk back quite yet, but I promise you - the more they hear the better!
Encourage sound play and imitation. If your baby starts babbling while pointing to something or during play with a certain toy, you can probably take a guess at what they are trying to communicate - even if the babbling sounds nothing like the actual word! For example, if they say “ba ba” while pointing to your dog (even though “ba ba” sounds nothing like “dog”), you can say, “Doggie! Say hi to the doggie!” (or some variation of that, using the word “dog”). Babies like to know that you are paying attention to what they are “saying” and that reinforcement goes a long way! Think of yourself as an interpreter (and if you have no idea what they are trying to say, that’s ok too - just take a guess). Even if those random sounds don’t mean anything, it’s ok if you think they do! You are reinforcing sound play and language development.
Use your daily routines to model language. Routines are a great way to model vocabulary because your words can be consistent and repetitive. Everyday at bath time you can model words like bath, bubbles, water, soap, etc. Everyday at mealtime you can model words like eat, yum, spoon, really whatever you want!
Babble back! If your baby starts babbling, imitate them and babble back. This initiates the reciprocal conversational turn taking that will be so important in building language and social skills. Don’t worry that you aren’t modeling real words. Babble is a crucial skill and you are helping your baby to build it.
Be repetitive. If you hear your baby imitate a sound that you make, keep making it! This makes the sound even easier for your baby to imitate again and again and helps to reinforce their imitation.
READ! Reading is a great way to model lots and lots of new words and sounds. You don’t even have to read each book word for word. Just point to the pictures and talk about them. And guess what? If you get sick of your baby’s books, you can even read a magazine or a novel! Just read it out loud and you are still providing excellent exposure to new sounds and words.
Talk, talk, and talk some more!
Remember, babies develop according to their own timeline, but if you think your child is late to start to babble, consult your child’s healthcare providers to discuss your concerns. And stay tuned for a new course covering fine motor, gross motor, and speech/language development for babies from birth through 12 months. This course is in collaboration with my good friend and fantastic occupational therapist Bethany DeJarnatt of Little Chicks. In this course, I will be covering strategies for enhancing language development, cognitive development, and play skills in your baby’s first year, including the all important babbling milestone, and much, much more!
For further reading, check out the articles below:
Franklin, B., Warlaumont, A. S., Messinger, D., Bene, E., Nathani Iyer, S., Lee, C. C., & Oller, D. K. (2014). Effects of parental interaction on infant vocalization rate, variability and vocal type. Language Learning and Development, 10(3), 279-296.
Goldstein, M. H., Schwade, J. A., & Bornstein, M. H. (2009). The value of vocalizing: Five‐month‐old infants associate their own noncry vocalizations with responses from caregivers. Child development, 80(3), 636-644.
Iyer, S. N., & Oller, D. K. (2008). Prelinguistic vocal development in infants with typical hearing and infants with severe-to-profound hearing loss. The Volta Review, 108(2), 115.
Iverson, J. M., Hall, A. J., Nickel, L., & Wozniak, R. H. (2007). The relationship between reduplicated babble onset and laterality biases in infant rhythmic arm movements. Brain and language, 101(3), 198-207.
Majorano, M., Vihman, M. M., & DePaolis, R. A. (2014). The relationship between infants’ production experience and their processing of speech. Language Learning and Development, 10(2), 179-204
McGillion, M., Herbert, J. S., Pine, J., Vihman, M., DePaolis, R., Keren‐Portnoy, T., & Matthews, D. (2017). What paves the way to conventional language? The predictive value of babble, pointing, and socioeconomic status. Child development, 88(1), 156-166.
Hooray for Exclamatory Words!
Yay! Whee! Oops! Oh no! These are all examples of exclamatory words (hint - think of things that can be exclaimed!). Exclamatory words and utterances are one of my absolute favorite things to use in therapy with children who are struggling with imitation, especially those who have yet to produce their first words. These types of sounds and words are extremely helpful in getting little ones talking and imitating.
Some parents hesitate to model and encourage these sorts of “words” because they are not necessarily functional, or being used to communicate something specific. They are too silly. But guess what? It doesn’t really matter! If your child was ready to imitate and produce real or functional words, he probably would already be doing it! Think about how babies develop their first words - they start with sounds (cries, blowing raspberries, squealing), then learn that those sounds can be used for a purpose (i.e., getting your attention, expressing hunger, etc.), then they start to play with more and more sound combinations until they eventually start producing sound combinations that sound almost like words. But it all starts with those first sounds. So building up these so called “silly” sounds and exclamations can actually be an important step forward on the road to the first words.
It could be that your child isn’t quite ready to try real words yet. And if you keep trying to get your child to imitate real words that are too complex at this current stage, what’s going to happen? Probably a lot of frustration! What you might need to do is to take a step back, and build up sound production skills with simpler sounds and words. This is where exclamatory utterances come in. Again, if your child was ready to say “real” words, they would! Maybe they’re just not quite ready yet - but don’t worry, they can get there, and you can help.
Need some more reasons to start using exclamatory utterances? I’ll give you several. What I like best of all is that they are FUN! They are a lot of fun to use in play and always get a child’s attention. They also encourage the use of many new sounds. Even though they aren’t necessarily true words, they still involve all sorts of sounds, which are great practice for young children. They are also great to combine with gestures and funny facial expressions. Throwing your hands in the air, stomping your feet, making a surprised face - these are all really good ways to get your child’s attention on you, help them to be engaged, and eventually imitate you!
Another great characteristic of exclamatory utterances - they are short and sweet. And simple! I love exclamatory utterances because they are easy to imitate. Meaning they are perfect for encouraging imitation. Think of it this way - if I’m learning how to speak French, would I want to start my pronunciation practice in simple, short words like “chat” (which means cat) or would I try to say something long and complex like “anticonstitutionnellement” (which means unconstitutionally, and, yes, it is the longest word in the French language)? I would definitely pick the shorter word! The simpler the better, right? Think of exclamatory words and sounds as the easiest place to start. You are building the foundation for more complex words and phrases.
Need some examples? Here you go!
Beep!
Uh oh!
Whee!
Oops!
Wow!
Yay!
Yeah!
Ouch!
Whoa!
Oh no!
Yuck!
Yum!
Shhhh!
Aw, man!
Bang!
Animal sounds are another great way to get imitation going, in addition to making up sound effects for other toys like cars and tools, or even saying “mmmm” when eating (or pretending to eat toy food). The sky’s the limit!
Here are five tips to help you start using exclamatory utterances TODAY!
1. Repeat, repeat, repeat!
If you read my post on imitation, you’ll remember that being repetitive is a great way to enhance imitation. This is also incredibly helpful when using exclamatory utterances. Repetition will make the words and sounds so much more familiar and even easier for your child to imitate. It can be helpful to come up with a verbal routine (stay tuned for a blog post entirely devoted to this topic) in which you use the same exclamatory utterance every time you use a given toy or complete an activity. For example, when you play with cars, every time the car goes down the ramp you say “whee!” and every time the car crashes into another car you say “beep beep!”. If you are stacking blocks, each time you put another block on the stack say “up, up up” and then when you crash it down say “boom!”.
2. Get excited.
Since exclamatory utterances are exclamatory, be excited! Exclaim! Exaggerate your intonation - be over the top. Your excitement will make your child even more likely to want to imitate you. And not only will your child have more fun, but I bet YOU will have more fun too! If you find it hard to come out of your shell in that way, thats ok. Just practice. Practice being silly - make silly noises and say silly words.
3. Be eye to eye.
This means getting down on the floor and playing with your child, at their level. This helps them to be more engaged, it helps you to be more engaged, and it means they are much more likely to watch your face and learn from you.
4. No pressure! I repeat: NO PRESSURE!
You may have noticed that this is a common theme in my posts and courses. If you try to force your child to imitate a sound or a word, it is going to be a lot less fun than if you just PLAYED! You will have more fun and your child will have more fun. If they don’t imitate right away, thats ok. Just keep modeling those fun exclamatory words. For example, think of how disruptive it is if you say to your child, “say whee!” and then hold the car at the top of the ramp, waiting until your child imitates you. This can really interrupt the natural flow of play. Wouldn’t it be more fun to just say “whee!” and let the car go?
5. Get creative.
You certainly don’t have to stick to the list of exclamatory utterances above, or any other list you may find online. Make up your own - pick up a toy animal and say “do do do” as it walks. Do what works for you! You know your child best. You know what he is most interested in and what he would be most likely to imitate. Plus, it’s ok to jump ship and try something totally different. Sometimes kids just aren’t that interested. If you try something and your child walks away or stays silent, go back to the drawing board and try something else. And something that worked 10 minutes ago might not work right now. That’s not a problem, you’re still providing a great language model. There’s no wrong way to model language for your child - the more the better!
Remember, these tips can be used throughout the day in any activity or routine. You don’t even need to make special time to try them out!
For more examples and tips (including videos!) on how to use exclamatory words to increase imitation in play check out my Let’s Get Talking! course here.
5 Rules to Make Reading Fun for You and Your Child Summary
This is the cheat sheet from our 5 Rules to Make Reading Fun for You and Your Child course. Tips to help your child develop a love of reading!
5 Things Every Parent Should Know About Screen Time
A quick internet search on screen time and child development will make one thing very clear: screen time is not beneficial for developing young brains. Many studies have revealed the detrimental effects of too much time in front of screens, whether they be televisions, tablets, or phones. This is not good news for exhausted parents who are desperate not just to have a moment to themselves, but to attend to countless household tasks, provide attention to other children in the home, the list may go on and on. Providing a child with a tablet based game or video for 20 minutes may be a necessity. So with that understanding in mind, I’d like to take a step back from the countless guidelines you might find on Google, to explain why experts are harping on the need to decrease screen time for kids from a speech and language perspective (spoiler alert - it’s not just about the screens!).
1. Kids don’t learn language from screens.
Yes, some television programs are more educational than others. Yes, some apps and games are superior. However, young children (by this I mean infants and toddlers) do not possess the symbolic and attentional skills needed to learn from digital media. Expecting your child to learn how to talk from watching television is like me expecting to learn how to be a gymnast from watching Cirque du Soleil. I don’t have the experience to translate what I’m seeing into usable knowledge or skills. Simply put, children cannot take what they’ve seen on a TV show and use it in “real life”. Interactions with YOU are exponentially more valuable than anything they might experience through a screen. Interactive shows are not the same as interactions with YOU! Children need hands on exploration and real life social interactions in the real world in order to be able to function in the real world. So the next time you feel like you need to prop your child in front of the TV while you cook dinner or get ready for the day, instead try propping them in front of or next to you. I bet they will watch - and better yet, you can talk about everything you’re doing!
Most anything you read about early language development will tell you that the more language a child hears the better. And this is true. However, the best way for a child to learn language comes from reciprocal interactions, meaning you and the child are engaging together. Yet another reason that language input from a screen is not as impactful as interacting with you and others in your child’s environment. You may be thinking - what does reciprocal interaction look like when your child isn’t talking yet? Good question. Something as simple as pointing or reaching counts as a conversational “turn”. So if your child points to a bird, and you say, “Look! It’s a bird!”, that input is much more meaningful than your child seeing a bird on the TV screen.
Let’s take a step back even further and think about the missed opportunities that may occur if a child is watching a screen for several hours a day. That time would be much better spent in creative play and interactions with other children and caregivers. Young children need these opportunities to develop. Time spent outside, being active, and playing is crucial for development across the board.
2. The issue is bigger than just the screens.
The issue is also bigger than just language. The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) recently released new guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep for children under 5 years of age (I know, I said we would take a step back from guidelines, but bear with me). These guidelines show us that the issue isn’t just about time spent in front of a screen. The real issue here is physical activity and overall health. According to the W.H.O., the number of obese people worldwide has nearly tripled since 1974. This is a BIG DEAL. And establishing healthy exercise (and yes, screen time) habits early on can have a major impact on health throughout their lifespan. These guidelines highlight the need for children to be physically active several times a day and in a variety of different ways. They also recommend that when sedentary, reading and storytelling is preferable to screen time. Being in front of a screen has hidden costs, not only is it detrimental, but it takes away opportunities to build good habits.
3. Passive screen time counts too.
Unfortunately, it isn’t just a child’s screen time that matters - so does ours. Research shows us that parent’s background television use (those episodes of Friends running on Netflix in the background) has a negative impact on parent-child interactions. So called “passive” screen time isn’t passive at all - it comes with a cost. We also know that your media habits are a strong predictor of your child’s media habits, so it’s a good idea to give your child a good example of less TV watching and more time reading. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Netflix binge as much as anyone, but it’s important to be aware of the fact that passive screen time may have more of an impact than we think.
This also applies to mobile devices. When we are on our phones, scrolling through Instagram or Facebook, we are less likely to have verbal and non-verbal interactions with our children. Think about the importance of reciprocal interactions mentioned above. If you are at the park with your child, and your child points to a bird up in the sky, you will miss the opportunity for engagement if you are looking at your phone. Those missed opportunities add up quickly (remember, reciprocal interactions are the best way to teach language!).
4. Screens are everywhere!
Let’s take a moment to consider not only all of the screen types we have in our daily environment, but all of the uses we have for screens. We have so many options for movies and television shows, not to mention the social media outlets most of us subscribe to, in addition to addictive games and apps. Our overall options for media have changed drastically over the past few years, and don’t seem to be slowing down or decreasing anytime soon. Because of this, it is all the more important for us to be aware of our daily screen time. Not to mention there are buildings full of professionals strategizing ways to make these things more addictive to you and your children. People can get advanced degrees in persuasive technology!
A recent article from The Atlantic describes the dangers of “distracted parenting”. Again, the importance of reciprocal, back and forth conversations is emphasized, as well as the severe disruption caused by parental screen time. We’ve all been in a situation in which we are having a nice conversation with a friend and that friend gets a text and suddenly focuses on their phone instead of whatever you were in the middle of saying. Annoying right? And not only annoying, but awkward and incredibly disruptive to the flow of your conversation. It is the same thing that happens when you interrupt the all important reciprocal interaction with your child.
5. Don’t feel guilty - some screen time is actually OK.
No one is expecting you to move to a cabin in the woods away from technology. Remember, screens are everywhere! And in today’s world, kids need to be savvy technology users, so screens are inevitably going to be a part of their lives. As I’ve mentioned, the W.H.O. recommends zero minutes of screen time for children under 12 months of age. The American Academy of Pediatrics updated their guidelines as well, recommending no screen time for children under 18 months of age. This is not to say a few minutes of screen time is going to completely interrupt your child’s development. The main point is that kids don’t learn language from a screen. This is especially important to note in the age of Baby Einstein among others, promoting interactive and educational programming. A study out of the University of Washington found that parents are certainly conflicted about screen time, and their primary reason for allowing their child to have screen time was to attend to necessary tasks like folding laundry or giving attention to another child in the household. As I mentioned above, for many families it may feel like a necessity. Further proof of this conflict parents face - a national survey found that technology overuse use was the number one fear of parents of teenagers. So it seems the conflict does not diminish as children grow older. The main point here is that parents should be well informed and ultimately need to determine what’s best for their family.
One final point - the W.H.O. recommends no more than 60 minutes of sedentary screen time for children 2 years of age, and this experience can be greatly enhanced by adult interaction with the child. What does this look like? This video of an adorable (and very empathetic) little girl watching a movie with her mom gives us a nice example. And does anyone remember this viral video of a baby watching TV with his dad? If parents watch programs with their children, they can highlight and discuss new words and ideas. This is what can contribute to language learning.
If you’re concerned about your child’s screen time exposure, there are several amazing (and free!) resources online. Here is a great resource to help you and your family to come up with a family media plan:
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/media/Pages/default.aspx
If you are concerned about your child’s speech and language development, your best option is always to speak with your child’s healthcare providers to determine if a speech and language referral is necessary.
And if you’re looking for a comprehensive parent centered course on early language development, check out my Let’s Get Talking! course here.
For further reading, here are some references for the studies I’ve mentioned above.
Anderson, D. R., & Pempek, T. A. (2005). Television and very young children. American Behavioral Scientist, 48(5), 505-522.
Barr, R. (2013). Memory constraints on infant learning from picture books, television, and touchscreens. Child Development Perspectives, 7(4), 205-210.
DeLoache, J. S., Chiong, C., Sherman, K., Islam, N., Vanderborght, M., Troseth, G. L., ... & O’Doherty, K. (2010). Do babies learn from baby media?. Psychological Science, 21(11), 1570-1574.
Jago, R., Stamatakis, E., Gama, A., Carvalhal, I. M., Nogueira, H., Rosado, V., & Padez, C. (2012). Parent and child screen-viewing time and home media environment. American journal of preventive medicine, 43(2), 150-158.
Kirkorian, H. L., Pempek, T. A., Murphy, L. A., Schmidt, M. E., & Anderson, D. R. (2009). The impact of background television on parent–child interaction. Child development, 80(5), 1350-1359.
Radesky, J., Miller, A. L., Rosenblum, K. L., Appugliese, D., Kaciroti, N., & Lumeng, J. C. (2015). Maternal mobile device use during a structured parent–child interaction task. Academic pediatrics, 15(2), 238-244.
Radesky, J. S., Kistin, C. J., Zuckerman, B., Nitzberg, K., Gross, J., Kaplan-Sanoff, M., & Silverstein, M. (2014). Patterns of mobile device use by caregivers and children during meals in fast food restaurants. Pediatrics, 133(4), e843-e849.
Richert, R. A., Robb, M. B., Fender, J. G., & Wartella, E. (2010). Word learning from baby videos. Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine, 164(5), 432-437.
Schmidt, M. E., Pempek, T. A., Kirkorian, H. L., Lund, A. F., & Anderson, D. R. (2008). The effects of background television on the toy play behavior of very young children. Child development, 79(4), 1137-1151.
Wen, L. M., Baur, L. A., Rissel, C., Xu, H., & Simpson, J. M. (2014). Correlates of body mass index and overweight and obesity of children aged 2 years: findings from the healthy beginnings trial. Obesity, 22(7), 1723-1730.