OfValentina Rorato
The expert: parents are the best resource for children in the first years of life and must stimulate them with games, songs, the right strategies and by providing a correct communication model
The first words are a great emotion. There is no parent who doesn’t look forward to hearing them call mom or dad. It is a satisfaction for which, however, it takes time and a lot of patience, because language begins to develop in the belly, starting from the 23rd week of pregnancy, when the hearing organ is formedbut it is only around the age of one that the child pronounces his very first words, which are often simply the repetition, more or less casual, of two syllables, which nevertheless make the parents’ heartbeat accelerate.
Strategies and games
“It’s obvious that language needs a base, foundations, everything before the first little words to develop and these are the prerequisites” he explains the pediatric pedagogist Silvia Lusetti, author of the book «Come on, let’s play and talk», a real guide with strategies and games to stimulate children’s language. The basics are «the visual hookthrough which he begins to look at his mother and observe the movements of her mouth while she pronounces the little words, shared attentionthat is, the fact of wanting shares the object of attention, which can be a game or a person, the first vocalizationswith which he understands that by making sounds his mother is observing him and starts doing facial gymnastics, and communicative intentionalitythat is, the desire to share something.”
The first sentences
And so we gradually arrive at around 12 months, when the first little words usually appear. «Then there is a great interindividuality: every child learns at different times and in different ways. Many times the comparison does not hold up because, even within the same family, with the same stimuli, there are brothers who learn before and brothers who learn later». This often depends on the interest of the little ones: some children are more motory and others are more fascinated by the linguistic aspect. The vocabulary explodes around 18/24 months, when the little one learns to compose the first little phrasesstructured by the association of two little words, such as a word and an onomatopoeic sound, then a word and an adjective and, finally, a word plus a verb, which marks the structure of the sentence.
Onomatopoeic sounds
At what age should we start stimulating language? Immediately and «Parents are children’s best resource in the first years of life and they must stimulate them with games, with songs, the right strategies and by providing a correct communication model – clarifies the expert -. If at 12 months he still doesn’t speak, doesn’t say his first words and doesn’t babble, you shouldn’t bombard him with questions to try to get him to talk, but work on language prerequisites. From 12 months to 18 months the most important aspect, however, is that you begin to repeat; therefore, the specific exercises are all aimed at the child learning to associate a sound with a little word and to verbally imitate what she hears from adults, starting from onomatopoeic sounds.”
Development stages
When should a parent worry? Children are not robots and growing up is a wonderful and very personal journey. «The developmental stages that should theoretically be reached at 12 months are: 2 or 3 words, at 18 months: 50 words, at 24 months: little phrases. But there is great variability. There are children who speak first and children who speak later, and they call each other late talkers. The important thing is to understand whether the prerequisites for language are present around the age of two – continues Lusetti -. Worrying is a positive thing, not in the sense of being anxious, but in the literal sense of the word, that is, taking care of… that is do something to stimulate the child to speak and then implement the right strategies, the best games, the songs, daily, to ensure that the little one will unfreeze». The strategies that are often implemented at home are not always adequate, because they could favor the onset of performance anxiety in the child, who consequently may not be encouraged to speak. You shouldn’t, for example, ask him to repeat, hurry him, anticipate his needs, but attract his attention by playing and singingperhaps being guided by a speech therapist.
Language difficulties
«Speaking late is quite common and affects around 13-20% of two-year-olds. Around 50% of children overcome their language difficulties. This explains why the recommendation to wait has been popular for many years. But there are several problems with this approach – they point out Laura Borzaga and Giulia Mantegazza, child neuropsychiatrists of the Don Gnocchi Foundation -. First, late speakers may not fully catch up. In fact, the presence of early linguistic difficulties is a significant risk factor for the subsequent development of a real language primary language disorder. Furthermore, speaking late can have a negative impact on the child already during the early childhood years: he may seem frustrated, withdrawn or aggressive precisely because he doesn’t have the words to express feelings or desires». It is therefore important to always ask your pediatrician for advice or contact a speech therapist.
«Parent training»
In Italy, 7% of children suffer from a language development disorder in preschool age. To help families identify this problem and support children, the Don Gnocchi Foundation launches «Baby bloom», a service in which specialists and parents work side by side, at home and during dedicated meetings. The course, aimed at children aged between 18 and 36 months with delayed language development, is structured into 15 once-a-week meetings and begins with an evaluation by the child neuropsychiatrist followed by an evaluation by the speech therapist and about ten meetings with the parents during which activities are proposed that the parent will then implement in the family context. The intervention consists in fact of a «parent training» and involves the use of some subsidies suited to the established treatment path.
Digital devices
Are there any toys that don’t stimulate language? Digital devices are not conducive to language, with some small exceptions. «I am not against television regardless. I think it is important to give children quality time, as well as quantity – explains Lusetti -. The best thing would be to watch it together, comment on it and, afterwards, relive the experience of the cartoon”, perhaps by drawing a drawing, leafing through a booklet that talks about what we saw or playing with the characters. The idea is to transform that moment in front of the TV into a linguistic experience to be reworked, to increase vocabulary, better structure the sentence and broaden narrative skills. The use of YouTube should not be demonized either, especially “in small doses and to listen to songs”. However, tablets and smartphones in the hands of children should be avoided because not only do they not stimulate language but they have numerous negative effects: they favor the onset of sleep disorders, language delays and relational disorders. According to World Health Organization guidelines they are prohibited in the 0-2 year age groupwhile they can be granted for a maximum of one hour per day between the ages of 2 and 5 and for two hours between the ages of 5 and 8.
Silvia Lusetti
Come on, let’s play talking (from April 23rd in bookstores)
Strategies, games and songs to stimulate language
Sperling & Kupfer
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