Shall we talk to or talk with our child?

2nd June 2020

In our daily life, many parents would like to develop their children’s language development as early as possible, so what shall we do in order to effectively communicate with our children and boost their linguistic development at the same time? This week, KnewSTEP Education will discuss how to best provide a healthy language learning environment for your child.

Research found back-and-forth conversation significantly changes children’s brain, according to the cognitive scientists at MIT. This type of conversation can boost children’s brain development and language skills, regardless of parents’ income or educational background.

“The important thing is not just to talk to your child, but to talk with your child. It’s not just about dumping language into your child’s brain, but to actually carry on a conversation with them,” said Rachel Romeo, a graduate student at Harvard and MIT and the lead researcher of the study.

Today, there are countless educational apps or games devoted to expanding children’s vocabulary. However, the most crucial element in child development is still: social interaction and human relationships.

What shall we talk with our child then? Did you perform well in class today? Are you getting along with your classmates? These questions are quite old-fashioned and most likely your child will simply answer “fine”. Why don’t we try to ask some open questions to give our children the opportunity to express themselves? For example, what interesting things happened at school today? And in the meanwhile, you can also share your experience with your child after listening, so as to create more rooms for further conversation. Another good way is to start the conversation with a book, read a book with your child, and discuss the contents of the book with your children afterwards. This will allow them to not only develop their interests in reading, but also help them think more while reading and express their opinion with the language acquired. Sometimes, it is also important for us to know when to stop talking and simply listen to our children, which creates more opportunities for them to talk and communicate with us.

Have you spoken with your child today? Wish we can always all listen more, take turns more. To learn more information about language education and whole-person education, feel free to learn more about from our educational consultancy team.

Reference：https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/02/how-you-talk-to-your-child-changes-their-brain

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