Helping Parents Move Beyond the Word Gap via Zero To Three

Helping Parents Move Beyond the Word Gap

Zero To Three: 10.18.2014 by Claire Lerner and Rebecca Parlakian

The “Word Gap” has come to symbolize the gulf that can separate very young children who have rich, regular opportunities for positive early experiences with language from those who do not. Science tells us that early language and literacy skills are some of the most important predictors of later success in school, and that as a group, children in families with lower socioeconomic means know far fewer words than their more privileged peers.

So how do we close the word gap? By helping parents understand that the development of early language and literacy skills starts at birth, with babies’ innate drive to communicate—to let the trusted adults in their lives know what they need, think and feel. Babies communicate from day one through sounds (crying, cooing, squealing), facial expressions (eye contact, smiling, grimacing) and actions (moving legs in excitement or distress, and later, gestures like pointing.) When the trusted adults in their lives respond to these signals, they are letting babies know they are loved and understood, which motivates them to keep on communicating. That is the foundation of what leads to strong language and literacy skills.

Developing language and literacy skills is not an academic exercise that involves saying a certain number of words to children each day. A robust body of research shows that strong language and literacy skills develop when, starting in the first days and months of life, parents and other trusted caregivers engage babies in back-and-forth communication, both verbally and non-verbally, as they play together and go through their daily routines.  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on (7) readability formulas:

Grade Level: 15

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: College graduate