Baby Talk

Power of Talk

For children between birth and age 3, the most powerful number is 30,000.

That's the number of words children need to hear every day from their parents and caregivers to ensure optimal language development and academic success, according to the research of Drs. Betty Hart and Todd Risley and confirmed by Colorado-based Infoture, Inc., and their analysis of over 46,000 hours of speech data – the largest database of parent-child audio information in the world.

Children who hear at least 30,000 words per day will thrive regardless of race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Some key findings:

~ Parents estimated they talked more with their children than they actually did.

~ Parents of advanced children in the 90th to 99th percentile on language assessments spoke substantially more to their children than did parents of children who were not as advanced.

~ Most language training for children came from mothers, with mothers (both working and stay-at-home) accounting for 78 percent of total talk.

~ Mothers talked more to daughters than they did to sons.

~ Parents talked more to first-born children than to children who followed in the birth order.

~ Most adult talk between parent and child occurred in the late afternoon and early evening.

Read On @ Your Local Library: CalCat or WorlCat

Bright from the star:
the simple, science-backed way to nurture your child's developing mind, from birth to age 3
Jill Stamm; Gotham Books, 2007
~ Face Time, you are your baby’s first toy.
~ Play Time, the real work of play.
~ Down Time, doing nothing is important, too.
~ Everyday talk and Everyday reading !

Unplugged Play: No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun.
Bobbi Conner; Workman, 2007
~ resource for parents seeking whimsical yet practical ways to unplug the electronics and promote the physical, cognitive and emotional benefits of plain, old-fashioned play.