Life Teaches Language to the Young Child

Kids are born to learn.
They arrive studying the world around them--its how they survive.
Under optimal circumstances this natural thirst to learn everything possible about their world grows, and grows, and grows, quenched over and over again by nurturing adults around the child. This is how a solid foundation for life long learning is laid.

How can you enhance this process?

1. The most powerful and practical way I know is though the use of language. Talk and talk and talk to the newborn and the young child. Talk about everything: the softness of the blanket as you touch her face with it, the smell of a flower, the sound of a buzzing bee, the warmth of the water in the bath. It might seem like a one sided word by word report about the world around her but nothing is further from the truth. Trust me: when you add language to early sensory experience you are opening the door to a deeper and richer experience than she could ever create on her own.

2. Motivation and interest fuels learning. When a child is looking at or reaches for something, she is as motivated as she can be to learn more about it. As you talk about it let her touch, smell and otherwise explore it through her senses (in whatever ways are safe and appropriate). The more richly she experiences it, the more she will remember and enjoy the experience and easily build on it.

3. Repetition deepens learning. If a child frequently experiences the smell and texture of the leaves of a scented geranium (one you pick and place in his hands) for instance, build on these experiences by talking about being gentle and kind to the plant as you help him pick a leaf. This may or may not be successful, depending on maturity and other things but I find it is worth a few leaves to discover if he might be ready to be introduced to feeling compassion for plants.

Real life is real. It provides a rich myriad of smells, tastes, sights, textures, sounds and feelings for the young child to experience. Children are naturally mindful. When you use daily life experience to draw her attention to the details and richness of life, you significantly increase her ability to grow and learn.