New research indicates that if we want to help children develop speech and language skills, listening to what they have to say is as important as talking to them.
It makes a lot of sense, no doubt, just as we could say among adults: the effect of a two-way conversation is obviously much greater than the effect of a one-way conversation.
So what matters most is the interaction. And, as we have seen, the way we speak to them also influences their social skills. The results of the study appear in the July issue of the journal "Pediatrics."
Regarding the influence of television on language development, researchers found that watching television did not have much effect, positive or negative, as long as it did not replace conversations between an adult and a child, something that seems difficult. A few weeks ago we saw that according to a study, television can impair speech development, although we have also seen advantages in this medium of communication.
The study of the University of California at Los Angeles involved 275 families whose children were between two and 48 months old. The more a child talked and interacted with an adult, the better the parents had of the child's progress, and it is also common for parents to provide feedback and correct mistakes. We also adapt our language for children's understanding.
It's simple, parents usually do it quite often even with the smallest babies: "I'm going to put the cream on you," "What a pretty t-shirt," "Let's see the grandparents" ... and we'll have to keep in mind that, when they begin to answer us, even in their original language, we must continue the conversation.
