Speech and Language Development in Children: Language Delay

This post is one in a series of posts about child development. You can see the earlier posts here.

• Language development and speech development are two very different things. Language delay is a delay in the cognitive functioning around learning to talk, whereas speech delay is a delay in the actual physical production of words.
• If a child has a speech delay, this cannot cause a language delay, but language delay may cause speech delay where a lack of understanding of the words causes a delay in learning to say them.
• Children can experience a language delay if they have insufficient opportunity to identify words and link them to something familiar.
• With typically developing children, there is a close link between what their mother is saying, and what is happening around them.
• Margaret Harris and colleagues performed a study in 1983 where they found that 78% of the things mothers said to their 16 month old children referred to whatever the child was currently focusing on. They also found that almost 50% of the things the mothers said contained at least one specific object name.
• Conversely, in a later study, they found that mothers of children with a language delay at 2 years referred to what the child was focusing on less than 50% of the time, and only 25% of their words contained specific object names.
• Mothers of children with language delay instead referred to objects in general terms - "that thing," "one of those" instead of "the ball" or "the cup."
• This sampling of the mothers' speech was done before a language delay was evident so it's not likely that the child's language delay caused these mothers to change the way they spoke to their child.
• That said, we still can't be sure exactly what causes a language delay.
• Margaret Harris has stated however, that there is definitely an interactive relationship between mothers' speech and their children's language development.

What can we learn from this then, as parents?

The key message is that what we say to our children makes a massive difference to their language abilities in the long term.

In every book, article and study I've read while doing this module on child development, the relationship with the mother (or father, or other caregiver) is stressed as the most important thing in the child's life. (most studies focus on the mother, that's why I've used "mother" throughout my posts)

I don't know about you, but I often look up and think "good grief, you talk a lot of crap to that child!" but what I'm actually doing is pointing out everything of interest, naming everything she is looking at or walking towards or touching or falling over.

"oh look, there's a doggie! Say hi doggie! Ah, what a lovely doggie; hi doggie! And here are some ducks! How many ducks are there? There's another duck! Here's a white duck! Shall we feed the ducks? This duck wants to eat all the bread doesn't he!" 

This gibbering is actually really important for your child to learn not only object names, but the connecting words between them, and words for their thoughts and feelings and colours and all the rest. All this gibbering is teaching your child language, and it's vitally important.

Blog Every Day in August: Life Goal

I am taking part in Yummy Mummy in Training's Blog Every Day in August challenge. Day 3 is "Life Goal."

Wow, "life goal" is such a big thing to cover. It could be anything from relationship goals, where you want to live, financial goals, wellbeing goals, health goals... the list is somewhat endless.

 

Now that I'm a mother, my life goals have been somewhat merged with those of my child. So long as S is happy in life, then that's my goal achieved as far as I'm concerned.

 

As far as my personal aspirations go, I'd like to be earning enough money to not rely on tax credits in order to get by; I'd like to be able to earn that money from writing. I'd like to live somewhere quieter than where I am now; I'd like to have a garden for S to play in. I'd like to be able to drive us places, and afford to do so. I'd like to be able to study and read for large portions of the day. I would like to reach a point where I know I don't need to worry about money when I'm old.

 

My main goal, though, is that my daughter grow up happy and well-adjusted with dreams and aspirations of her own. If I can achieve that, I'm sure I can live without the rest!

 

Guest Post: Money Saving this Summer

This is a guest post from Shaye Walsh, who blogs at Simply Shaye. 

This Summer Ditch the Bad Habits and Learn Money-Saving New Habits

Summer time should raise dreams of trips to the beach, getting away on tropical vacations or family time spent enjoying your kids at theme parks. In reality, summer time is most often about bored kids destroying the house before they run off to a friend's house to play video games in front of the computer or television. You'll spend more time frustrated than enjoying the kids, but it doesn't have to be that way this summer. There are ways to earn extra money by turning your hobbies and things you enjoy into moneymaking opportunities. It won't overwhelm you, and should be simple because these are things you could already be doing in your spare time.

Doggie Boarding

If you love dogs, this is a perfect way to make some extra money. Dog owners hate to drop their furry family members off at a kennel. Often, pet owners feel huge amounts of guilt over putting their dog into a kennel. As a dog lover, you are sure to understand that feeling. You can provide a loving environment for their pooch while they enjoy their vacation guilt free by dog boarding. Your family will enjoy spending time together caring for an animal knowing you are providing a valuable service to both the family and the dog. You'll be making some extra cash, and it won't feel like work at all.

Selling Crafts

At one time, the only way a person could make money-selling crafts was during church events, craft sales or garage sales. It required more work to sell the items than it did to make them. With the Internet, there are tons of ways to sell the things you create without travel costs and expenses. Hobbies are meant to calm a person, give them an interest that brings them joy and take up some time, so they're not bored. A hobby can be more than that now. With sites like Etsy, a hobbyist can sell their creations. Whether you like painting, making jewelry or building action figures, Etsy will allow you to showcase your products and set your own prices.

Kick the Bottled Water Habit

Water is extremely important to keep a body healthy and nourished properly. People who drink plenty of water have glowing, healthy skin. It can't be denied that water is essential, but what is not essential is the hit that bottled water makes to your savings and to the environment. Bottled water is expensive. If you were to add up the cost of all the bottled water you drink in a month, you might be surprised at the cost. Lots of people do not enjoy the taste of their tap water. If you don't like the taste of the water out of your home faucet, consider a home water filtration system. In the long run it will save you money, and you'll never run out of water like you would with bottled water. http://thewaterproject.org/bottled_water_wasteful.asp

Toss Out that Gym Membership

Most people waste their money on a gym membership they won't use very often. A low-cost alternative is buying old gym equipment or weights to be used at home. You're more likely to work out if you don't have excuses like having to drive to the gym. You'll save the cost of a monthly gym membership, which can be pretty pricey. That saved money can go towards a summer vacation with the family.

If you're creative and think outside of the box, you can have the money you need to spend time with your family this summer. Instead of yelling at them all summer to pick up after themselves, you'll be able to sit on the beach soaking up the sun while they splash in the surf.

Shaye is a single mom that has a passion for family, budgeting, healthy living, fitness, and travel. She loves finding new ways to cook healthier and stay fit, all while doing it on a budget. She has a beautiful son and one eccentric dog, but wouldn’t have it any other way.. 

You can also follow Shaye on Twitter: @Simplyshayew