One in five parents believe it is only beneficial to communicate with their baby from the age of three months and 1 in 20 think the age is 6 months or older.
An unbelievable 13% of them feel the primary responsibility for developing their child's communication skills lies outside the home.
To mark the 'National Year of Communication', the National Literacy Trust is launching a 'Talk To Your Baby' Campaign to educate parents about the positive role they can play in helping their baby develop vital communication skills in the first three years of their lives.
Talking, Listening, RespondingJonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literacy Trust, comments: 'The first three years are pivotal to the development of communication skills. By the age of three, 80% of a child's brain will be formed. A child's brain will never grow faster than at this point in their lives so we're urging every parent in the UK to use this window of opportunity to talk, talk, talk! We all know how vital it is to give a young child plenty of TLC. Our message is that TLR (Talking, Listening and Responding) is every bit as crucial to their future wellbeing.'
The National Literacy Trust's new campaign is launched amidst concern about the rising number of children entering primary schools lacking basic communication skills.
• Over a third of parents expecting their first baby are unaware that there is any benefit in talking to their baby while it is still in the womb
• One in 20 of expecting parents believe that language skills develop entirely naturally and that they have no role to play in their development
• While over three quarters of parents believe it's crucial for children's language and speech development to be supported, one in eight believe the primary responsibility for developing communication skills in their child lies outside the home, with nurseries or healthcare professionals.The New Five-a-Day RuleAs part of the Talk To Your Baby campaign the National Literacy Trust is urging parents to consciously incorporate some TLR (talking, listening and responding) time with their baby at least five times a day.Tina O'Brien and daughter ScarlettTina O'Brien, star of Waterloo Road and Strictly Come Dancing and mum to 2 year old Scarlett, comments: 'TLR is the new TLC! You and your child will get so much out of talking together and it doesn't have to be hard work. Scarlett and I chat all the time, when we're shopping, at bath time or even while we're doing the weekly food shop. We have such a giggle when we're talking together and it's great to know that I'm giving her language skills she'll have for life.'
Tina continues:
'A friend suggested that I keep a treasure box for Scarlett and it's been brilliant. It's just an old shoe box and each week I fill it with three new things for her to discover and talk about with me. We've had fruit, shells, ribbon, pictures, pebbles, dolls, flowers and everything you can imagine in there! Also, Scarlett loves turning everything into a game. When we play peekaboo, instead of saying boo I shout a new word. She thinks it's hilarious and loves copying me. ....... Now that Scarlett is talking much more I'm trying to help her increase her vocabulary. Instead of using the same words all the time I'll try and introduce new ones. So for instance, when we have breakfast I'll ask her 'Is that delicious?' one morning and 'Is that really tasty?' the next morning. She loves trying out her new words and showing them off to people!'
Ex-Blue Peter presenter and Mum-of-two Katy Hill says:"Ever since my 4 year old Kaya was in the womb I've talked to her! And when she was a baby, I talked her through our days together - even the routine things like running errands. Now I also have a 1 year old son Akira, and I'm doing exactly the same thing with him. It's amazing how much he understands, and I find it so rewarding when he tries to converse with me by babbling! For me, language creates such a special bond and I truly feel like he's my buddy throughout the day while Kaya's in school. Now that Kaya's started reading for real, I notice how much she's benefitted from these language skills early on.
Her reading's amazing. We always get maps and leaflets on days out, so we can re-live the day at home, and the kids favourite part of the day is reading books in the bath, closely followed by their bedtime stories which help them to wind down. Reading to them at night is so special and it's when I feel closest to them."Baby's First WordAround a third of parents expect to hear their baby's first word between the ages of 6-8 months while 38% expect to wait until their baby is around 9 - 11 months. Over a quarter anticipate that a full year will go past before their baby will be able to say a recognisable word, when in fact the average age for the emergence of baby's first word is typically around 12 months.
The National Literacy Trust research reveals that the top 10 most popular first baby words (other than Mummy or Daddy) are:
1. Dog
2. Cat
5. More
4. Baby
5. Ball
6. Duck
7. Teddy
8. Milk
9. Gran
10. Again
Jonathan Douglas comments: 'Few moments in life are more magical that the first time you hear your baby talk. It's the start of a lifelong conversation. But we want parents to understand that talking with your baby doesn't have to involve words. Your baby cooing, babbling or even simply holding your gaze is a way of them communicating.
March 2011
TalkToYourBaby.org is also encouraging parents with babies and young children to hold a 'Talk To Your Baby' party and is providing party packs and inspiration on their site, with the first 300 parents to commit to holding a party receiving a 'Driving My Tractor' book and CD package from Barefoot Books, worth £6.99.
The National Literacy Trust is an independent registered charity that transforms lives through literacy. 6000 people, including 3000 parents took part in the Hello launch survey to understand people's perception of general communication development. The survey was conducted by One Poll between 19th and 20th January 2011 |
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