Family First II

Common sense tells us the people a child grows up around significantly influence that child's growth and development, particularly in the first few years of life. Our family really determines the kind of start we get in life. Language development is one of those things upon which families have a huge influence. As infants and toddlers, we listen to our parents and siblings and that’s how we begin our language development. We speak English because we listen and learn from our parents and siblings who also speak English. Early language development is our ability to process sounds, and understand words and phrases. The receptive vocabulary of young children, those words and phrases that one understands and responds to when heard, is a direct result of the conversation and language interaction that children have with their parents and siblings. That’s why it is so important for parents to talk with and read to their children.

The more language interaction children have the better. It doesn’t matter what language or dialect, the important thing is that the mind learns to process language and verbally interact with another human being. The interaction component is where television falls short. Kids learn so much more from conversation and interaction with parents or siblings than they do from simply listening and watching TV. Likewise, when someone reads to a child, there is also the opportunity to interact by asking questions, explaining, and discussing what is being read. Children’s early language development is based on the language interaction of their parents.

I can share a personal example of this. My father was from rural Berkeley County. In addition to farming, his family ran a butcher shop in a farmers market in Charleston. He spoke using a unique mix of English and low country slang based on gullah and geechee dialects. I think he may have also made up a few words of his own. As a young child I learned this same “low country dialect”. This realization hit home for me when I started school. I seemed to know words that no one else knew…only to find they weren’t words at all; or at least not words one could find in a dictionary or words that the teacher had ever heard. I had picked up these unique words and phrases from my dad. When I went to college the boys in the Kappa Sig house thought I spoke using a unique dialect and accent as well, particularly the way I pronounced the name of my hometown, “Sumptah”.

The point here of course, is that it’s not so important the kind of language we are exposed to, it’s really the “richness” or “fullness” of the language experience that counts. If children are not immersed in language during their early years, they will experience difficulty in learning to read when they grow older. It is so important for the parents and grandparents of young children to verbally interact with infants and toddlers. Talking, singing, and reading with an infant or toddler is so fundamental to that child being able to do well in school later on.

Children need different kinds of language interaction as well. Looking at words printed on paper is also an important part of the puzzle that leads to a child’s ability to learn to read well. For a child to have books of their own is more important than having toys. Books should be as much a part of a young child’s life as a pacifier and diapers. They don’t have to be expensive books, just any kind of little books.

Children learn by watching adults, consequently it is essential for children to see their parents reading. Even if reading is not one of the parents’ favorite things to do, when raising children it’s a must. No one likes changing diapers either, but it’s something you do when you have a child. Reading with, to, and in front of your child is so important if you want them to do well in school. No one ever said raising children was easy. Actually it’s the most challenging and time consuming thing one can do, but it’s also the most important and rewarding. No one is a perfect parent. We can all do better and we will if we always put family first.

Jan/Feb 2008