Why talking to little kids matters | Anne Fernald | TEDxMonterey

[@Wendathena]

I was working full time when my older child was 0-4 years old. I was mostly busy, stressed out, and tired when I was with her. I probably didn't talk to her as much as I could have. I had a second child and was working much less and spent more time with him - took him everywhere, narrated and interacted with him about everything we did. When he was about 20 months old I remember being in a grocery store checkout, having him "help" me enter the phone number into the checkout terminal machine by using his fingers to push the numbers, narrating the numbers, and then narrating each action "press enter, swipe the card, sign, etc." along with other interactive banter I was sharing with him. The woman waiting behind me seemed a little annoyed and said to me "he can't understand what you are saying to him", to which I replied, "of course he can understand what I am saying". Then she replied, "well then he must be a genius", to which I didn't really reply, as she seemed to be making fun of me. Later when he was about 2.5 years old, while we were out at a park one day, he asked me "is our home a far distance from here?" which I remembered because I wondered how many 2.5-year-olds would know the word "distance". He was quite a reader as a kid (it was before iPhones and video games existed). When he was around 16 we had him evaluated and his verbal skills were in the 99.9 percentile. On the other hand, the older child, who I probably had not talked to as much since I was so busy with full-time work when she was young, didn't have as strong verbal skills. Was this an effect of my not talking to her as much as to him, or do they just have different strengths (she was very artistic and has high visual perceptual skills)? I do think that being able to spend more time talking to the younger one helped him develop his language skills. Years later, when my kids were older, I remember my mom saying she didn't know with her first child that it was important for parents to talk to their children to help them develop language. My sister didn't develop her language abilities at as young an age as I did. As the younger child, I had the advantage of having an older sibling talking to me all the time and a parent who was talking to both of us but probably directing most of the language to the older sibling. So my language skills developed earlier.

[@Derlet30]

Thank you for sharing your stories. This is very interesting and illuminating! 🌻

[@theurbanwolf298]

My wife and I lived below poverty as dislocated migrant workers. Our son at 2yrs old, was bilingual and came 1 year ahead in grade level. It's all about giving parents the right toolset!

[@lila-Bey]

THE URBANWOLF yep

[@juliaxo2872]

So did you speak to him in both languages from the time he was born? Or how did you go about making him bilingual? I’m afraid to confuse the child if I speak in two languages.

[@Kwonderful88]

@@juliaxo2872I have an early childhood development degree and this is so beneficial to do at an early age. Try speaking to them at home in one tongue and when you guys go out to speak to them in the second tongue. Or Also, try having one parent speak a native tongue and have the other speak the other tongue. I wouldn't worry about confusing him. also When it comes to successfully bringing up a bilingual baby, there’s no one size fits all approach. It’s all about finding what works best for your situation and your child. best wishes!

[@Alabanza.Musicversity]

@@juliaxo2872 there is enough evidence that there is no confusion when it comes to bilingualism when you do the research and talk to others. You can use the one parent one language approach or use the home language at home and leave the school language for school. As a bilingual early childhood music educator and mother I can tell you that engaging in music is one of the easiest ways to capture language. How did you learn your ABCs! Sing in both languages at home!

[@manicmuffin]

​@@juliaxo2872 There is no confusion, our brains are hardwired for language and developing children will naturally develop an ear for which words and grammatical structures belong to which language. In some countries like South Africa, Indonesia, or Luxembourg, it's common for people to speak three, four, or even more languages, and can effortlessly codeswitch between languages. If anything, it's best to start multilingual immersion as soon as possible, as language learning is easiest between the ages of 0-6, however, when the language learning areas of the brain are the most plastic.

[@MelindaButler]

As an elementary school teacher, I believe this is true. It's all about the time and vocabulary a parent gives/shares with a toddler.

[@hanswoast7]

Luckily, this is science and you dont just have to believe it. She presented and interpreted a lot of careful measurements. That does not mean even a careful intepretation cannot be wrong, but it is by far the best approximation to truth we got - until proven otherwise by new data. Sorry for being harsh.

[@fflavia85]

@@hanswoast7 Thank you for that comment!

[@svitlal5845]

When my nice was a baby, I was playing and speaking with her. I was speaking correctly. My thoughts was 'My nice will learn this word if I use it correctly.' Some people think that this is a strange way to speak to a baby. When this nice started speaking, she was building correct sentences and was very smart, because of that people sometimes forgot that they were speaking with so small child. My second nice wasn't so fast to speak, she was treated as a small child at the same age. I was spending less time with her.

[@like90]

I can definitely see this effect in action with my daughter. I see how well my 2 year old daughter has been doing with her vocabulary and just the ability for her to pick up words so easily. It's amazing to watch it all unfold. I think if you get a parent that has lots of interaction with their child, I don't think it matters what their income is.

[@wshelby83]

I agree with you!!

[@ItCantRainForever2]

Exactly

[@playsavedthechild.2848]

It is often so annoying when they talk about that. I went to Play with the Autistic child of rich-er people. And he started to talk... There seemed to be some magic in that. Before the play... he was withdrawn and not engaging... So the paradigms within paradigms can be complicated. The people of the child were proponents of the same "Rich peoples kids talk more do better cognitively", but with the Autism they were at a loss what to do. How did they 'get there'?? Was it genetic, if you keep in mind PLAY made the child engage with the world again? Good people that thought PLAY was wasting time... they tried to get "performance and dicipline" and brow beat the child with basic concepts .. waiting till that ..."sunk in" before moving on... They missed how the child showed his skills, so they though something was wrong 'genetivally' with the child... they did try everything. And got the diagnosis. Still someone else walked in, played the child to better mental health... the child reconnected with the parents once the verbal bridge was built... "the interface". From therr they could re- engage and teach and parent. But before this they were building a wall around the child... thicker and thicker... and possibly no-one would then have been able to get through to him. I'm curious to this dynamic... How was the child 'missed'? (any ideas ?) When play unlocked his interest in life... I say PLAY SAVED THE CHILD. Where the money couldn't buy him health. Play and someone's emotional undivided attention & emotional availability gave the child a link to allow, to think it worthy of engaging again with people and the world. ...PLAY saved the child. - and I'm sure there was talking involved. - and nonverbal communications... and happiness.

[@Nikki.Nasvytis]

Speaking to kids definitely matters. I had, and surpassed, a goal of reading 1000 different books to kiddo before he turns 4. (As well as reading each book 1 to 30 times like a typical voracious reading parent, ya know) I also read the book 30 Million Words, which is about the main study referenced in this video. That said, my newest interactions with this study / body of research have proposed that the study has not been recreateable and may have had inherent flaws, which have perpetuated the issues it sought to fix. So, talk to your kids, play with your kids, don't worry about drilling them on vocabulary.

[@kmrsong]

Very nice talk. Both parents in modern times are busy with thier jobs and domestic work. Leaving little time to talk to their infant kids. The work shows clearly, engaging conversation with kids matters a lot. In modern times kids are forced to engage more on screen. This is due to little time spent with kids due to other pressing compulsions

[@kiette]

Wow... some people totally missed the point. It's not about class or ethnic background, but about the quantity and quality of infant-directed speech, which is the part that actually makes a difference. O.o

[@MontyBoosh]

Probably because there *is* a correlation between SES and the amount of child-directed speech.

[@Sacredstrokes108]

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[@Sacredstrokes108]

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[@Sacredstrokes108]

MontyBoosh jhas bhas us bh bhbo hug bhnj Jin Jivani h h

[@Sacredstrokes108]

Ian Rudolph ijj bbj bh

[@samanthasalazar7064]

Interesting research. I also think children's mental capacity to understand is often undermined by most adults.

[@wshelby83]

So true

[@francescoaccomando7781]

My niece which is 2 years old is very extroverted and she talks a lot even though she has a limited vocabulary, and I saw our family constantly talk to her, and every 1 to 2 weeks when I see her in the weekend and I'm surprised that since the last time Insaw her she already picked a couple of new words and combine them together. I met a girl that has a daughter the same age of my niece and she could only say "mom" and "dad", and I saw the interaction with her mother or more the lack of. She never addressed her about anything, she never ask something, or telling her about things around her, and then I thought that the reason why she is not uttering words is because the daughter is never engaged in any linguistic input. This talk confirmed that.

[@hi_pinky22]

i love this. Wish i would’ve known more of this stuff before my first born, growing in a hispanic family i’m glad i found this! and i will use it from now & on. Thank you!

[@rosaliaestrada7817]

OMG! She is amazing! I got the pleasure to meet her at Educare California at the Silicone Valley a few years ago and her insights on Early Learning just blew my mind away. 🤯

[@retobilinguismo]

I love the topic and we support a lot the idea of quality and quantity of good interaction between mom and child. Our Mamaestra program holdS 50 encounters to primor early Spanish language stimulation.

[@abhiam18]

When parents keep on fighting with eachother & baby got neglected, watches TV...Baby has speech delays...and then....

[@ruhi3881]

Amazing research..Thank you for sharing this in your talk :)

[@lisacaroline4973]

Great talk. Really appreciate the research done here. !

[@mutaibshah4355]

amazig research on childhood linguistic development

[@lisacaroline4973]

I like how it's not all bad news for low income families. Interesting how some kids at 18 months are the same level as other 24 month olds. I can believe that.

[@micosstar]

cool! (: taking Intro to Child Development class at my community college, CRC :)

[@fivebyfivesound]

Really interesting, insightful, and well-delivered talk. I’m interested to know what main factors contribute to the difference in ‘number of words spoken’ trend between the Mexico City and Bay Area low SES groups-whether it’s primarily due to the Bay Area care-givers navigating a foreign environment, as the example given, or if there are other significant factors such as overall opportunity and resource for engaged time with the child. I realize this is a bit beyond the scope of the studies presented, and it seems like a really important thing to understand so those families are getting effective support. Many thanks 🙏🏽

[@Derlet30]

Excellent contribution! Thann you for asking this question 🌻

[@simonsimon2888]

My poor parents left China due to extreme hardships for Singapore. My China mother sent me to a British school when i was 8 years old. The English language was indeed unbearable foreign to me. After the English reader textbook, JANET & JOHN our reading foundation was solidly set and deepened. We were from the 'dialects speaking' families spoken at home but proudly we made it with this 'reading ability'. Now, i know why we were called 'The British Subjects' with a wider perspective of ONE WORLD! "GOD SAVE THE QUEEN".

[@chandaphillips1337]

Yea I’m poor af and all of my kids are incredibly intelligent. My little baby now is a little over 3 months and is trying to start talking already. And a child barely talking at 18 months is crazy to me!! My children talked to me in full sentences by the time they were 12 months. Just don’t talk to your baby in silly baby talk that means nothing. Gibberish is rubbish and they’re little people who loved to be talked to too. My kids are also my whole wide world and I talk to them constantly. Some people have to work a lot and aren’t around their kids as much as they would like to be. I’m blessed enough to be able to stay home though.

[@Derlet30]

This is great to hear! Very happy for you and your kids! 🙌😊

[@chandaphillips1337]

@@Derlet30 you know what. I wish I wouldn’t have said any of that stuff because my little baby ended up getting a bad bad ear infection and it damaged her hearing and can’t talk really well now. I’m always talking to her and playing with her. She just can’t hear good now but we’ve gotten her tubes. May have to get hearing aids or do speech

[@Lesfaundez]

What about families that speak two languages? My husband speaks only Spanish and I speak only English. My daughter is fluent in both and can read in both. How does that impact brain development?

[@itslifeitsme]

anyone else experienced low volume?

[@a.k.nesbitt9224]

Hmmmm..... Maybe PARENTS and CAREGIVERS are the individuals that are responsible for providing a rich environment for the children to learn. Maybe, if a parent is receive any form of Government Support, mandatory Parenting Classes should be provided to ensure that the Parent is fully aware of the benefits and potential that their children have if the Parent/Caregiver provides a rich language environment. So much comes back to the parent/caregiver in a child's development and future outcomes.

[@760mom]

Thank you

[@jane1702]

Who is here because of the seminar course 😁✌KAU.

[@Dr.freedom]

Just 41 Comments on such a important talk?

[@yvonnehyatt8353]

Please study-Bruce Lipton thanks

[@kareszt]

Santa loves it - especially when your on his lap.

[@ricocreationss]

Is anyone questioning the bottles?

[@maryerb6062]

I love those bottles and what they do with the light!!

[@ItCantRainForever2]

Very cool indeed

[@meghanmengel1026]

Where do we find that sort of support? This was amazing.

[@nanazsan7536]

I have a question for native English speakers, you say Monterey because its changed in English, because here México is said Monterrey

[@granda9689]

Monterey is spelled like that because it is not Monterrey in México, but Monterey in California 👍

[@rsrinivasan5486]

It is barely audible

[@johnsherman7289]

Words carry weight, weight training improves the mind.

[@jessemarquez1039]

so what's the solution

[@warmongerism]

The root cause is not poverty. Use the 5 why's. Why do we see some people perform better than others? Their level of proficiency. What determines their level of proficiency? Their teachers. What differentiates a good teacher from a bad teacher? Salary and training. Why don't we pay our teachers more and emphasize training? Political agendas. How do we reform political agendas? Vote. Vote for your rights. Stand up for your rights.

[@glenbratke]

Brilliantly put. Thank you for sharing that. I will implement the 5 whys concept so I can get deeper to the root of any issue. Many thanks fellow homosapien.

[@DounutDuckieee]

wow

[@markspontarelli8356]

Homegirl needs to speak louder.

[@tanvigupta5186]

But there are only 1.7 million English words. And other languages have similar number range-highest being 12 million in Arabic I think. So how is there a 30 million word gap?

[@glenbratke]

*They were referring to the amount of words spoken not amount of unique words spoken

[@rachellopez8078]

I believe this research too be true. But as university student who grew up in a Low SES family and community this upsets me, because I know many Low SES parents would be talking to their children more if they were educated about the benefits of providing early communication to their babies. I have a 3 month baby, and if it weren't for the education I have fortunately acquired, I probably wouldn't be speaking to her as much as I do. Also, I didn't really like this lady's attitude toward the research.

[@rosemarybowser5543]

Her cottonmouths absolutely destroys me

[@july77773]

Duh