Talking to Young Children Makes a Big Difference!
By Lauren Lowry,
Hanen Certified SLP and Clinical Staff Writer

If you search the internet for information about ways to promote your young child’s development, you’ll find many websites that suggest that you “talk to your child.” Many studies have shown that the amount and quality of language that children are exposed to has a huge impact on their communication development and success at school.
A recent study by researchers at Stanford University uncovered one of the reasons that parents’ conversations with their children make such a difference. These researchers studied 29 children when they were 19 months old, and then again when they were 24 months old. The children wore special clothing with a digital recorder in the pocket that recorded approximately 10 hours of:
- the child’s speech
- speech that adults directed towards the child
- overheard speech (speech directed to adults or other children in the household, but not directed to the child in the study)
They also measured:
- the children’s ability to process speech – they showed the children pairs of pictures (e.g. dog/baby) and then said a sentence which named one of the pictures. They watched to see where and how quickly the children looked when they heard the word that named one of the pictures. This allowed them to determine how efficiently the children processed the speech they heard.
- the children’s vocabulary – they determined how many words the children knew at age 24 months.
The researchers noticed some interesting patterns:
How to Talk to Your Young Child
From the moment they are born, parents begin talking to their babies. The suggestion to “talk to your baby” seems almost unnecessary as parents seem programmed to do this right from the start! But how often you interact with your child and the way you interact with your child can make a huge difference. By following these five simple guidelines, you will set your young child on the path towards language learning:
By allowing your child to lead and talking about his interests, you will have many opportunities to provide your child with good language models. And your child will get the message that you are an interested conversation partner. These interactions will help your child tune-in to words, and promote his vocabulary and overall language development.
References
- Weisleder, A. & Fernald, A. (2013). Talking to Children Matters: Early Language Experience Strengthens Processing and Builds Vocabulary. Psychological Science, 24(11), 2143–2152.
- Carey, B. (October 15, 2013). Talking directly to toddlers strengthens their language skills, Stanford research shows. Stanford News. Retrieved from http://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/october/fernald-vocab-development-101513.html.
The Hanen Centre is a Canadian not-for-profit charitable organization with a global reach. Its mission is to provide parents, caregivers, early childhood educators and speech-language pathologists with the knowledge and training they need to help young children develop the best possible language, social and literacy skills. This includes children who have or are at risk for language delays, those with developmental challenges such as autism, and those who are developing typically.
Click on the links below to learn more about how Hanen can help you help children communicate: