Honing children's language development skills
by Selena Young
by Sherlin S.C. Ong (Senior Regional Nutritionist/Dietitian)
M.S., R.D.
Sherlin: I read somewhere that feeding helps a baby to develop her speech? Is this
true? If so, how?
Selena: Yes, it's true. The same muscles used for eating are also used for talking.
When a baby first learns to eat solid food, she tends to chew in a sucking manner
with the tongue against the upper gum to mash food. After a while, the baby begins
to co-ordinate the tongue and lips, this time with the tongue thrusting forward
to push food out of the mouth. The use of the tongue tip develops when starting
to chew. This is important for speech development as a lot of sounds are made with
the 'tongue tip' - for example, 't' and 'd' sounds. As she gains control, the lips
are then used to take food off the spoon and to form a seal for the swallowing process
to begin. Pureed and lumpy foods encourage chewing - a preparatory process important
for speech development. Thus, feeding is a form of exercise for the lips, jaw and
tongue, preparing a baby to begin to master the art of pronunciation.
Sherlin: Will a delay in introducing solid food at 4-6 months impede language development?
Selena: Well, weaning is a gradual process and a slight delay in introducing solid
food will not impede language development directly. But if chewing is delayed, or
a child remains on a bottle for too long, the child may have difficulty with some
speech sounds later on. Solid food introduction helps in developing and strengthening
a child's lips and tongue muscles for speech. Firm solid foods are more effective
than pureed foods to promote chewing. The continued use of fine purees can lead
to the child rejecting lumps, and learning to chew may be slow. Not all sounds are
developed at the same time. Some are harder than others, and develop when the child
is older. The following are estimated milestones for normal speech development:
Age
- Stages of Speech Development
0-3 years
- lip sounds - b, m, p, w
- tongue tip sounds - t, d, n
- back of mouth sounds- k, g
- other sounds- h,y (as in yellow)
3-6 years
- tongue tip sounds - s, z
- middle of mouth sounds - sh (as in ship)
- ch (as in chair)
- other sounds - l, j, f
By 8 years
- all sounds should be clearly said
- other sounds - v, th (as in mother or thumb)
- zh (as in measure)
(Sander, 1972)
Sherlin: How can parents turn weaning or feeding time into a happy time?
Selena: The weaning period can be both frustrating and fun for parents. Frustrating
for parents, as they have to be concerned about the nutritional level of the meal,
preparation of food and at times, force-feed their baby. Fun for parents as feeding
time can be turned into quality play time spent with their baby to aid her language
development. It is a period when a baby exercises her lip and tongue control, abilities
to suck, chew, initiate and control each swallow in preparation for language development.
Parents should take this opportunity to communicate with the baby through naming
the food she will be fed or instructing her to chew and swallow. This is another
form of promoting language development.
Sherlin: How should parents communicate with their child?
Selena: Communicating with a child requires joint attention, eye contact and turn
taking. It is important to realize that when a child uses a word or gesture it may
have a number of different meanings. For example, a child says ---'dog'. She may
mean that there is a dog, where's the dog, I want a dog, look at the dog or I want
my toy dog. This all depends on the situation (i.e. how, when, where, why, who)
in which it was used. It is up to the receiver of the message to interpret the meaning.
This is why it is important that parents attend to their child and the situation,
and look for both verbal and non-verbal information.
Sherlin: How should parents talk to their child in order to enhance their child's
language development?
Selena: They should be a good talking model:
- Speak loudly and clearly
- Sit close to their child
- Maintain eye contact
- Encourage talking through exaggerated facial expressions
- Pronounce carefully, slowly and correctly
- Use a pleasant tone of voice
- Use simple and clear sentences, for example: please give this to daddy
- Avoid 'baby talk' beyond 12 months
- Be an attentive and interested listener
- Be an active and animated communicator
- Give lots of praise
- Respond naturally and conversationally
- Most importantly MAKE TALKING FUN!
Sherlin: Today's parents are vigilant and constantly comparing their child's development
with the next door neighbor's son or daughter of the same age. Should they be concerned
if their child is slower in developing language skills compared with neighbor's
son or daughter?
Selena: Generally speaking, speech and language develop in a specific order. Although
age norms for specific structures exist, they are used as a guideline, as there
is a wide range of normal development. Even a child who does not begin to speak
until 2 years will learn language in the usual sequence and must be given time to
go through the sequences. Remember: there is a wide range of NORMAL development
and every child is an 'individual' who develops at her own pace.
Language is the understanding and using of words. In fact, a child's language learning
begins at birth, by listening and responding to parents. It develops in stages and
some children develop sooner than others. Here are some general guidelines on the
age and stages of language development.
Age
- Stages of Language Development
0-12 months
- babbles ('mama' , 'dada')
- copies sounds and noises ('bruuum' for a car)
- waves and claps upon requests
12-18 months
- points to named objects
- begins to use single words (e.g. ball, no, sleep)
18-24 months
- says many different words
- joins words together (e.g. 'mommy drink', 'big doll')
- listens to a short story
- understands simple questions (e.g. 'where's the apple?')
2-3 years
- uses 3-5 word sentences
- tells you what she is doing
- asks questions
- understands concepts (e.g. big/little, in/on/under)
(Owens, 1996)
Sherlin: When should parents then be concerned with their child's delayed language
development?
Selena: Some children are naturally late developers. If a child takes a longer time
than most to learn to crawl, walk, and eat solid food, then being late in talking
could be part of that trend. If a child understands her parents and can follow their
instructions or point out the objects they ask for, then she may be late but has
the potential to develop speech appropriately.
On the other hand, if a child is not responding consistently to her parents' instructions
and cannot copy sounds and is not startled by loud sounds, parents may need to have
her hearing checked by a doctor. Hearing impairment is another significant factor
in hindering speech development.
Most children should be able to be understood by strangers by 3-4 years of age.
If your child is having difficulty being understood, please seek speech therapy
early for an initial assessment for your child.
Sherlin: Are there any exercises that can help a child to enunciate well?
Selena: Blowing, sucking and chewing exercise certain muscles around the mouth to
help some children to speak. So parents should encourage their child to blow bubbles
and pieces of tissue paper. In addition, they can teach their child to suck from
a straw and encourage her to chew solid food. Parents must remember to seek speech
therapy early for their child, to ensure their child receives immediate intervention
if they are concerned about their child's speech and language development.
Sherlin: Thank you so much for your very insightful information. Do you have any
final advice for parents?
Selena: Parents should talk and sing to their baby during bathing, dressing and
feeding. The use of variation of tones and facial expressions helps her develop
basic building blocks of speech. They should encourage their child by rewarding
her when she attempts to learn new words or sentences with lots of praise, hugs
and kisses.