Health & Medicine, UK (Commonwealth Union) – The ability to communicate through language is a fundamental milestone in a child’s development, and the journey of toddlers talking is a fascinating and exciting period for both children and their caregivers, which has always been known to be key for their development. From babbling and single-word utterances to forming complete sentences, toddlers undergo a remarkable transformation in their linguistic abilities. In this article, we will explore the stages and factors involved in toddlers’ language development, offering insights into this captivating journey of communication.
Around the age of 6 to 12 months, toddlers enter the stage of babbling, where they experiment with sounds and syllables. Babbling is an essential precursor to language development as it helps children practice the coordination of speech muscles and explore the range of sounds their language offers. As toddlers approach their first birthday, they typically utter their first recognizable words, often referring to familiar objects or people in their environment. These early words mark an exciting milestone, representing the beginning of their expressive communication.
A new study conducted by the University of East Anglia (UEA) may further offer scientific validation to the need to talk with toddlers.
Scientists collected 1000s of hours of language data from babies as well as toddlers who had small recording devices on them.
MRI scans were also conducted to learn the structure of their developing brains, as they viewed a specific substance known as myelin.
They discovered that 2-and-a-half-year-olds exposed to more speech in their daily atmosphere had increased levels of myelin in language-related parts of their brains.
Researchers indicated that this is likely to back more sophisticated processing of language.
Lead researcher Professor John Spencer, from the UEA, School of Psychology, indicated that they are aware that children’s brains form extremely rapidly in the 1st 2 years of life, with brain volume at about 80% that of an adult brain by the time they are 2 years old.
He further indicated that myelin consists of protein and fatty substances that leads to an insulation layer around nerves in the brain. This gives brain signals greater efficiency.
“Imagine you have a hosepipe with lots of holes in it. Myelin is like wrapping the hosepipe with duct tape – it insulates neural fibres, bringing more of the ‘signal’ from one brain area to the next.”
“We wanted to know more about how this substance is involved with early brain development and particularly whether talking to young children boosts myelin production.”
Researchers evaluated data from over 160 babies and toddlers, that had small recording devices for up to 16 hours each day across 3 days on them.
These devices had collected over 6,000 hours of language data that consisted of speech from adults, conversational turns along with speech by the children themselves.
For the analysis of the brain structure, scientists waited till the infants were asleep and then carefully placed them in an MRI scanner for the gaging of brain myelin as the child was asleep.
Professor Spencer says “What we found is that the toddlers who heard more speech in their everyday environment, also had more myelin, which is likely to support more sophisticated language processing.”
Professor Spencer further indicated the significance of talking to toddlers for their development and it assists in shaping their brain.
The study is one of the 1st to demonstrate that language input linked to brain structure early in development.
Professor Spencer says “Prior work showed a similar association in four to six-year-olds, but our findings push this association much earlier in development. Indeed, we even found associations between language input and brain structure in six-month-old infants.”
The UEA led the study in partnership with Durham University, the University of Cambridge, the University of Iowa and Brown University in the USA, Leiden University Medical Centre in Germany as well as Concordia University in Canada.
