International Mother Language Day
Mothers (and fathers) help their children learn in innumerable ways – even when they don’t realize they are doing it. They offer their children the first sounds of language when the baby is still in utero. And after the baby is born, mothers speak and interact with infants using language. Therefore, it is no wonder that babies understand about 15 common words like banana and hand as early as 6 months.
While knowing the names of objects is important, it is also crucial to know the categories things fall into. Take, for example, cows and lions. Both are in the animal category. Think how powerful it is to know a new animal, say a pangolin, is an animal. Without studying it, you know that it reproduces, eats, and eliminates. Of course, babies won’t know all this for a while.
Mommas get the ball rolling by offering infants the words for the categories they encounter. Our lab found that 11- to 14-month-old infants learned more about categories from a play session with a parent than from playing solo with the same objects. After playing with momma, babies apparently learned about the category animal and correctly reasoned that a lion was also an animal.
A momma saying “Yeah, that one goes moo! This one goes roar! They’re both animals!”, helps children learn that both the cow and the lion are considered animals. Then Moms build upon the knowledge a child already has, and foster new connections: “That cow says moo just like Nana’s cow on the farm!”
In a world where all of us—especially moms—live such busy lives, it is crucial to recognize that children learn lots from just a couple minutes of play. The little, everyday moments shared between mommas and their children take children up the learning ladder in the most fun and incidental way.
Ph.D. Student, Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science, University of Delaware.
Lab Manager, Child’s Play, Learning and Development Lab, University of Delaware
Unidel H. Rodney Sharp Professor, School of Education, University of Delaware.
Author of 'Einstein Never Used Flash Cards: Why Children Should Play More and Memorize Less'