Possessing a strong vocabulary is just one of those things that will help you to get wherever you want to go in life.
There are well documented connections between the size and quality of your vocabulary whilst still at school and your income level in the future.
Vocabulary size is a reliable indicator of your skill in reading, writing and speaking as well as of your general knowledge of science and history.
Vocabulary is also key to children enjoying reading and comprehension.
Readers cannot understand what they are reading without knowing what words mean.
As children learn to read more advanced texts, they must also learn the meaning of new words that are not part of their oral vocabulary.
So… whilst vocabulary is important for academic and occupational success, there is another good reason to boost your child’s vocabulary;
and that is the link between vocabulary and happiness.
We communicate to others as well as to ourselves internally using words.
We grasp new concepts and ideas by interpreting words.
Words help us to communicate our thoughts and feelings and to build strong relationships with others.
Developing your child’s vocabulary is one of the easiest and most important things you can do to improve your child’s chances of success and happiness in life. Sharing a story together, playing alongside your child, making time to talk during every day routines, commentating, labelling and describing what you can see in your environment; each of these activities will build emotional connection, relationship bonds and vocabulary for your child.
Children can learn new words at an incredibly fast rate when they are young
The most important predictor of how well a child will do so is the number of words that children hear from adults.
Language is really one of our greatest gifts that we can give our children.
When children experience more child-directed conversations they have larger expressive and receptive vocabularies by the age of 2 years than when they simply overhear adults using speech in their surroundings.
Although differences in verbal and intellectual abilities between individuals are influenced by a range of factors including genetics, the contributions of early carer-child experiences are substantial. If you would like some tips for talking with your child in a way that will boost vocabulary then download our FREE 10 Tips for Talking.
So, will all of this in mind…
Over this holiday period, remember that your presence is the most precious gift you can give your child. A few minutes of your time every day is all it takes to build your child’s vocabulary from an early age and set him or her up for success at all stages of life.
