Parents and educators’ impact on child’s language learning and their emotional well-being

Abstract

The early years of a child’s life, from birth up to five years old, are significant for developing language skills. During this important phase, children quickly learn sounds, vocabulary, and communication abilities that are vital for being ready for school and achieving success later on. A key factor in this learning process is the interaction between parents and children, which plays a central role in helping kids understand the subtleties of language.

These interactions can occur in everyday moments—whether it’s casual talk at the dinner table, conversations during playtime, or reading books together before bed. Each of these instances provides valuable learning opportunities. Research points to three important elements in these interactions: the amount parents speak to their child (quantity of speech), the variety and complexity of their language (quality of speech), and how attentive and responsive parents are to their child (quality of interaction)