E-Books Among The Best Digital Media For Tots

Passive screen time for under-twos has no educational benefit and may slow language development, according to US-based nonprofit entity, ChildTrends.

Read: Tech For Tots – Not All Bad – Or Good

One-To-One Interactions

“Children learn best by interacting with other people and the world around them”, said Kathy Hirsh-Pasek of Temple University. To this end, digital media delivers best via e-books that spark discussions between parent and child, or shared time discussing videos of places they might never visit.

Receptive – Expressive Language

Childrens’ one-way screen time as in watching videos and TVs, is passive and does not develop receptive or expressive language skills. One-to-one interaction is the key for learning language, as multiple studies show. Parents accordingly need to have descriptive interactions with their babies:

Read: Long sentences are better for baby development

Family Language Best From Native Speakers

As Erika Hoff, a psychology professor at Florida Atlantic University confirms, “Children can hear lots of talk that goes over their head in terms of the meaning, and still benefit from it.” Notably, Hoff’s studies of bilingual families found children fare better when language is learned from native speakers. Essentially, parents are best to use a native, home language for the child to have a solid basis in that language before adding more languages later on.

More Reading

• Talking To PreTerm Babies Builds Language Skills
• Babbling To Babies Can Improve Their Brains (The Economist)
• ” Teaching A Deaf Child Her Mother’s Tongue ” (NY Times)
• Early Interaction With Babies For Communication
• Talk To Your Baby For A Solid Early-Learning Basis
• Parents’ Essential Role In Language Development
• Older Siblings’ Vital Role In Child Language Skills
• Live Video-Chats Suit Toddler Language-Learning
• After A Cochlear Implant – The Real Work Begins
• Child development milestones for age 2: stages of speech development
• Children ‘Are Made Smart From Conversations‘
• Bilingual, Spoken Language At Home And School
• Childcare Managers’ Vital Role In Language Skills
• E-Books, E-Readers And Childrens’ Language Skills