Monday, January 4, 2010

Children reaching age 3 without being able to say a word, survey finds

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article6974590.ece

Don't have children if your not going to tend to them.
I often wonder if daycare was the common denominator for the multitudes of ADD afflicted children.


The survey of more than 1,000 parents found that a child’s background was not a factor in how quickly they learnt to talk. Working parents who put their babies in day care are just as likely to have a child whose speech develops late as those who leave their baby in front of the television.

Virginia Beardshaw, the chief executive of I CAN, said that learning to talk required help and encouragement. “We know there is a golden period for developing children’s communication between 0 and 5 and that early intervention is vital if children are struggling,” she said. “Chatting to your child, playing word games, pointing things out and having fun together every day all give your child the right start to communication.”

Parents should interact as much as possible, reading stories and talking to their children to encourage them to start talking, speech therapists advise. They say that dummies should only be resorted to at bedtime so children are free to make sounds and form words during the day.