Glasgow Daily Times, Glasgow, KY

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September 4, 2008

Developing language in young children

BABY NET

By SHERRI MEYER, The BabyNet Coalition

BOWLING GREEN — Did you know that a child’s language develops amazingly from knowing zero words to learning up to 1,800 words by the age of 5? If you’re the parent of a child between the ages of birth to 5 years you are probably seeing many changes in your child and one of the most remarkable changes is the ability to communicate.

How do language skills grow? From the time a child is born, he begins to listen to the sounds of the voices around him. He may not understand the words we say yet, but he does recognize his mother’s voice and he is comforted by her soft sounds. As a child reaches 9 months, he now has a better understanding of what is being said to him and he begins to use the words “Ma” or “Da.” At about 18 months, he should be able to say words such as: “doggie,” “juice” or “ball.”

At 18 months, a toddler often uses between 20 to 200 words and by the time he is 2 years old, he may use 50 to 400 words as he communicates. At this age, sometimes the words “I” and “me” may be used incorrectly, but that’s OK. Repeat back to him what he said, but replace the misused word with the correct one. By age 3, a child often asks the same questions over and over again, like, “What’s that?” and “Why?” It’s easy to become frustrated, but try not to. Remember that children ask these questions because they are thirsty to learn and this repetition is helpful. By age 4, his vocabulary increases to around 1,000 words and by age 5 it increases to around 1,800 words.

Will all children reach these amazing levels? Are the words preprogrammed into a child’s brain? No. Children learn language by being around it. So talk to, read to and sing to your children from birth and beyond — there’s really no time to waste! When you begin these types of activities while children are babies, you will soon have children who begin to connect words with their meanings, and are capable of expressing themselves sooner. Have fun with your child and LISTEN as their speech GROWS!

Contact Child Care Resource & Referral: (270) 745-2216, (800) 621-5908, or ccrr.expert@wku.edu. Visit the Web site: www.wku.edu/ccrr-wku for many resources or www. babynetky.com.

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