baby talk

According to Kathy, new research highlights a decline in verbal language skills amongst pre-schoolers in Australia. She says there's an urgent need to ensure children receive guidance in conversation and acquiring strong language skills in their first few years of life.

This sets children up for their future literacy skills. We need to talk with, smile at, sing to, and cuddle little ones in order to start a child's language and thinking skills. Equally important is providing materials and toys that children can play with, manipulate, hold and squeeze as these provide important sensory stimulation and activate neurons in their brains.

baby talk

Australian research has identified a decline in verbal skills amongst pre-schoolers. We know babies require constant interaction with adults to foster thinking and language development. The pace of modern life means parents are spending less time with their young families.

There's an urgent need for parents to spend time and talk with their babies.

Kathy’s knowledge of international brain studies highlights that the infant brain is prewired and ready to take in a range of stimuli. The young developing brain requires continual interactions with adults, which then result in richer thinking and language development.

Early stimulation means better brain function and easier acquisition of language skills.

"Powerful research released this year has shown comprehensively that children learn optimally when they are engaged actively in rich play and interactions with adult support and guidance," Kathy explains.

In the past 10 years, the WALKER Learning Approach (formerly the Australian Developmental Curriculum) has been implemented in hundreds of schools across Australia in the early years of learning. This approach to learning, developed by Kathy, places play-based experiences alongside standard teaching.

Data shows that the WALKER Learning Approach has significantly increased children’s oral language and also increased writing with purpose and meaning.

Prominent US researchers also agree that strong oral language leads to strong comprehension, which in turn promotes effective reading. They have reported that children with poor oral language often have difficulty around grade 3 or 4, when they need to read more advanced materials.

A limited vocabulary reduces their ability to comprehend reading materials, and therefore a child’s overall ability to learn (NAEYC Position Statement 2009).

Children who experience challenges in reading and comprehension can become frustrated if they’re not able to communicate their needs. Frustration can lead to low self-esteem and also misbehaviour.

Brain stimulation for young babies does not mean teaching them how to read and write and count to ten; but it does require early interactions, conversations, play and relationships.

Use the side bar to the right to see how you can encourage thinking and language skills in your baby.

lets get practical

Use these quick tips and activites to help with your baby's develoment.

  • kathys quick tips
    • 1
      Make sure in daily routines such as feeding, nappy changing, dressing, bathing, that you cuddle, tickle, smile at, and kiss your baby and toddler. Touch and smiles fire up thousands of neurons in the developing brain.
    • 2
      During routines times, sing songs such as nursery rhymes, and talk and chat with your child. Talk about what you are doing, eg. “Now we are going to have a bath”. This helps the brain develop awareness of language and communication.
    • 3
      Sing songs and speak in your native language, if this is not English. Children will develop English more easily if they are immersed in the language that the parent is grammatically correct in and familiar with. This is important for the child’s language and cultural identity. Avoid the mistake of thinking that because we live in Australia, we must speak English at home. Children are lucky if they become bilingual and having two languages is also great for rich thinking skills.
    • 4
      Make direct eye contact; engage the infant and toddler with your look. Babies are prewired to be fascinated with the human face
    • 5
      Provide experiences where children are able to view observe and listen to others.
  • featured activity
    • 1
      Use finger puppets, sock puppets and cuddly toys as a way of playing with and guiding language with children. Children are fascinated with a voice coming from a toy or figure.
    • 2
      Give children objects to touch, to suck on and to manipulate such as teething rings, small hoops, and objects that make sounds such as rattles and bells. Provide toys in a range of different textures such as smooth, soft, hard, and cuddly. Objects to stack, to order, to piece together and to move are all part of simulating language and thinking. These experiences stimulate and enhance their thinking and problem-solving skills as they get older.
    • 3
      Make sure kids spend time outdoors, looking at the movement of the trees in the wind and experiencing the sound and feel of the sun and rain. Provide as many opportunities as you can to give young children exposure to these sensory experiences.

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