The way parents communicate with their children during the first year can have a far-reaching effect on both their language skills and intelligence, it has been claimed.
Speech and language therapist Dr Sally Ward, from the Speech, Language and Hearing Centre in London, has spent the last seven years investigating language development in babies and children.
Dr Ward recommends the following advice to parents:
- In the early months, keep talking, even if the baby is not talking back.
- It will help to remove all the background noise which could distract the baby.
- Be on the baby's agenda and talk about what the baby is interested in.
- This all needs to be implemented for at least half an hour a day.
However, some clinicians and academics are sceptical of Dr Ward's claims that talking to babies can boost their intelligence. The best bet is to engage your child from all angles ... food, play, activities, toys, talk, music... make the neurons grow and interconnect as the early years are your child's learning years.
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