A recent article in the NYT spoke of the trauma many people
experienced when Storm Sandy knocked out Internet access for days. The author maintains
“adults and children are overindulging in our devices, devoting ourselves to
the trivial.” That is certainly debatable but what is irrefutable is the fact
that young children need a different kind of stimulation for their brains to
grow and develop.
One of the biggest challenges a parent faces is how much on
line time do children need and how much is too much.
At birth, most of a
baby’s 100 billion brain cells aren’t yet connected in networks. Those cells
become connected when babies have stimulating experiences. Research shows that
early language experience actually stimulate a child’s brain to grow. Talking
develops a child’s use and understanding of language, which is the basis of
reading. Vocabulary development by age 3 has been found to predict reading
success and conversations before the age of 3 are directly linked to IQ development. Preschoolers who have heard more words have
larger vocabularies when they enter kindergarten and are prepared to learn to
read.
Busy parents along
with children plugged into devices does not foster the type of interaction and
stimulation children need to foster their verbal abilities. Language
acquisition and fluency comes from face to face interaction, not from a device
or a flash card. Put down the device and start talking.
No comments:
Post a Comment