The Importance of ‘Language-Rich’ Conversations
International research has found that a young child’s vocabulary, speech patterns and conversation duration closely mimic that of their parents – in fact 86% – 97% of words a toddler (3 year old) uses comes directly from what they hear from the parent.
The research found great disparities between different families and the parent/child vocabulary exposure they provided. Some children commenced school with double the ‘working vocabulary’ of others. This of course, gives them a huge advantage in the critical early years.
‘Follow-up studies showed that these differences in language and interaction experiences have lasting effects on a child’s performance later in life.’