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Hindrances for Parents in Enhancing Child Language

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Abstract

This review explores challenges and barriers to parent–child interaction which leads to language development in the first 3 years of the child's life. Seven databases yielded 1,750 hits, reduced to 49 evidence-based studies, many of which still had methodological imperfections. Evidence was quite strong in relation to socio-economic status, ethnicity and mental health, but weaker in relation to parental age and bilingualism. These factors pertain to the general demographic characteristics of parents, rather than their behavior. If parental behavior can be enhanced, better child language should follow, irrespective of these characteristics. This is an important lesson for professionals dealing with parents. Evidence was also weak in relation to television and the direction of baby buggies. These are areas where changes in parental behavior would make an immediate impact. Cost-effectiveness of interventions is extremely important and was reviewed. Recommendations for future research are followed by suggestions for parental action.

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Acknowledgement

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Literary Trust.

Conflict of interest

There was and is no conflict of interest between the researchers and the participants.

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Correspondence to Keith Topping.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Implications for Action by Parents

How to Talk with Children in Their Earliest Years?

  1. 1.

    Talk about anything at all—what you are doing while changing their nappy, what you are doing to button up their coat, what color the sky is, how it feels to wrap up in their blanket, how the traffic lights work, what stories they are trying to tell with all that gurgling. Anything at all will interest your infant, from the earliest days. Babies recognize particular sounds at less than 1 week of age, a capacity they have been developing while still in the womb. So, even before they understand what you are talking about, they will be able to tell that you are talking—to them. That is what is most important for them: to be assured of your attention to them.

  2. 2.

    Try to follow your child when you can. When you can see that they are interested in something, talk about that. When you let them ‘set the topic’, then their experience of the world is enriched.

  3. 3.

    Be sure that you aren’t falling back on to “yes” and “no” questions. Open questions, that require more complicated descriptions from you and answers from them, give them greater exposure to the way that language is used.

  4. 4.

    Know that lots of research shows that the more parents talk to their children when young, the better their language skills are as they get older. This relationship begins to become apparent as early as 18 months of life.

  5. 5.

    More than anything, though, don’t turn talking with your child into a task. Just have fun with it! This will naturally lead your voice to be animated, and that’s especially interesting for young children.

Who should talk with them?

  1. 6.

    Remember that conversation with fathers is as important as conversation with mothers.

  2. 7.

    Rest assured that conversation with everyone else is valuable—grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, friends of the family, neighbors. So encourage as much talk and laughter for your child as possible!

  3. 8.

    Monitor how much of the day the television is on. Consider turning it off if it is on much of the day. While young children can appear to be interested in the TV, research has shown that they become a bit “mesmerized” by it. This is because, although it is stimulating, it also leaves them in an entirely passive role. This is why real conversations with real people are so enticing for young children—because they are active participants in them, which promotes their brain development, their emotional development, and their language development.

What activities promote talking?

  1. 9.

    Sharing a book provides all sorts of opportunity for talking. You can read the words on the page, talk about the pictures, or make up new parts to the printed story.

  2. 10.

    Engage in play that involves talking and laughing—reciting nursery rhymes, singing songs, rhyming games, telling stories, learning the alphabet, numbers and letters. Be as playful and creative as you like. It is the talking that’s important, not the “getting it right”.

  3. 11.

    Have a day out—to a library, a museum, the zoo, a park, a local café.

  4. 12.

    Have an hour out—strolling through your garden, to the shops, or round to the neighbor’s.

  5. 13.

    When choosing toys (for Christmas or birthdays or any day), buy those that give lots of opportunities for talking and pretend play—puppets, building blocks, puzzles, dolls, tea sets.

Transportation

  1. 14.

    If you are purchasing a baby buggy, choose one that has a parent-facing option. This will make it easier to talk together.

  2. 15.

    If you already have a buggy, be sure to talk as much as possible to your child, while out strolling—whatever the direction that it faces. If they can’t hear you, they may not even know you are there (especially at the youngest ages).

  3. 16.

    When you can, carry your child, or encourage them to walk if they are old enough. When you carry them, either in your arms or in a sling, they feel safe because they are so close to your body. They thus feel more inclined to relax or, alternatively, to look out curiously at the world. When they are walking, they are developing motor skills and learning to use their body. It lets them experience themselves as more active, rather than passive, in the world.

  4. 17.

    When you are traveling in a car, don’t forget that your child is riding along in the back seat, strapped in their car seat. Be sure to keep talking to them during the journey. This becomes especially important if they can’t see your face, over the top of your own seat in front.

Multiple Languages

  1. 18.

    If there are two or more languages spoken in your house, is that a concern? Absolutely not! The years before age 5 are the perfect time to learn a second language! This is when human ears are most tuned to learning to speak. So talk away in both languages to them. They’ll soon sort out which words belong to which language.

  2. 19.

    In later years, their second language may be a slang language they talk with their friends, but which is different from the more proper language of school and other institutions. Will speaking “slang” undermine their ability to learn “proper” language? No. They’ll learn to speak both—and to move in and out of those different languages, according to the context.

Take care of Yourself

  1. 20.

    Parents who are coping with stressed lives are less likely, understandably, to talk to and have fun with their child. Aim to have a strong support system. When you have more energy for yourself, you also have more energy for your child.

  2. 21.

    If you are feeling depressed, talk to someone about it. Don’t keep it hidden from others. Depression is much more common amongst parents than is often realized. Getting help with that struggle is the best thing you can do for yourself and your child.

  3. 22.

    Think about joining a group where you can chat with other parents about the challenges you all face as parents—a parenting class, an infant massage course, a parent–toddler group. Hearing about other people’s lives helps in making sense of your own.

  4. 23.

    Know that the more relaxed you are, the more relaxed your child will be too. So, as they say, don’t sweat the small stuff. Wherever you can, stay focused on the positive.

Appendix 2: Some Useful Websites for Parents

Developing Language for Life

http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/talktoyourbaby/researchabstracts.html

Early Home Learning Matters:

www.earlyhomelearning.org.uk

Pre-school Learning Alliance:

http://www.pre-school.org.uk/research/

How to Play Talk and Read with Babies and Toddlers:

http://www.infoscotland.com/playtalkread/

Social Baby—full of resources for professionals and for friends and family:

http://www.socialbaby.com/

Zero to Three, based in America, is the best website for general information on all aspects of development from the ante-natal period to 3 years of age, and a source of many useful handouts. It includes details of many different ways of offering early intervention, both home and centre based. Their bi-monthly journal is essential reading—www.zerotothree.org

And for general research-based information on this period:

A free information hub for all dads: http://www.dad.info/

An excellent overview of Infant Mental Health programs is available on:

For adult mental health, useful both as information and handouts, this is a very good site:

There are a number of specialist sites covering specific issues, e.g.:

In the UK, the leaflets produced by the Child Psychotherapy Trust are now available online to be downloaded.

From Chicago, www.ounceofprevention.org gives examples of early intervention, including the highly successful Doula scheme that begins with the pregnant mother. Issues related to pregnancy and mental illness are well resourced at www.nmha.org—this also covers issues related to mental illness and parenting.

For an introduction to the long-term neurological and psychological consequences of early trauma:

And for ideas on how to help:

The World Association for Infant Mental Health is an important source for up to date research and clinical interventions:

In the UK, the Association of Infant Mental Health is open to anyone with a professional interest in very young children. On its website is a full account of evidence-based practice in the field of Infant Mental Health:

Some websites to begin looking for information on how the quality of the early care giving relationship sculpts the brain (for good or ill), are:

Attachment theory has provided the basis for much research and clinical work in Infant Mental Health. Some informative websites are:

Young Minds have launched an Infancy Policy, and also produce a good leaflet on “Tuning in to Our Babies” (2003):

HandsOnScotland is an online resource for anybody working with children and young people. The website provides practical information and techniques on how to respond helpfully to children and young people’s troubling behavior, build up their self-esteem and promote their positive mental wellbeing:

There are many websites promoting (and providing resources for) the sensitive, responsive and reflective parenting that forms the basis for secure attachment. Some examples are:

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Topping, K., Dekhinet, R. & Zeedyk, S. Hindrances for Parents in Enhancing Child Language. Educ Psychol Rev 23, 413–455 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-011-9169-4

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