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" My mother had a great deal of trouble with me but I think she enjoyed it." - Mark Twain

Early Experiences and Language Growth

Karen Stephens, writing to parents in her Parenting Exchange column, "Early Experiences Lay Foundation for Language Growth," observes:

"Communicating through spoken and written language is one of the most important skills your child will ever master. With it theyâll develop, nourish and maintain social attachments that will support them a lifetime; first within the family, then beyond. It will help them learn to understand themselves as well as others. 
     
"To master language children must do more than learn to pronounce a basic vocabulary and then be able to spell it. The basics of any language include the ability to listen, speak, read and write. Competence and versatility in all four areas equip children with tools they need to make sense of a lifetime of experiences and relationships.

"Children first achieve 'receptive' language. That means they listen to, focus on and then make sense of sounds. In the beginning, kids understand far more language than they can produce. With maturation and experience, children next develop 'expressive' or spoken language. They first produce sounds, then words, and then sentences to get their needs and wants met. Soon theyâre labeling everything in sight, just to prove that they KNOW, by golly, they KNOW what something is!"

"Early Experiences..." is one of 14 titles on Parenting Exchange on CD Collection # 6. To learn more about this and other Parenting Excange collections, go to: http://mail.ccie.com/go/eed/0539

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