Life at home can be noisy! Research suggests that background noise from TV, computer games and talking can affect how your toddler learns new words. The noise can draw a toddler’s attention away from focusing on words and can impact future academic success. By the age of 6, a child can have a vocabulary of 14,000 words giving them a foundation for reading. Here's how parents can help:
- Stop the noise! Shut off background noise including radios, TVs and computers.
- Spend alone time with your toddler reading, playing and talking while your other children are at school.
- Draw attention to words by over-exaggerating the sounds.
- Introduce new words. If they know “big” introduce “huge."
- Develop a quiet time for siblings to do their homework, read or play.
- Talk with your toddler while you cook, clean or snuggle!
Read more about this study here.