Good Morning America did a piece on the importance of talking to your baby to not only enhance his or her language development, but to also boost IQ and his or her chances for performing well in school. As any expert will tell you, children absorb everything at this age and so, they are more open to new information now then they’ll ever be. For that reason, conversing with them, reading to them, and even exposing them to another language is all highly beneficial for our little sponges.
The following clip is from GMA, and it not only discusses the topic, but it also introduces the latest device for tracking language exposure. For $400, you can find out how many words your child hears every day. Or, for $399 a day, I’ll come to your house and count for you.
Also, if you are like many parents who worry that their child is delayed in language development, rest assured that this is not generally considered a measure of your child's intelligence. My own uncle did not speak a word until he was three years old. When he was 23, however, he received his PhD in English Literature. You may be surprised to know that, by 18 months, your child is considered absolutely normal if they speak as few as 5 words, or as many as 50!
For more info on language development, click this link for a great breakdown:
http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/language_development.shtml
And for the GMA video clip......
In case you're having trouble with the video (it seems to work only occasionally), you can read all about the pricey language tracker (that makes great strides in enabling parent neurosis), at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/magazine/24wwln-essay-t.html
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