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Kids Learn Language from People (Not TV)

When I share my passions, I feel some hesitancy to not come across as ‘preachy’. Please know that I recognize it is very difficult to parent in today’s complex culture. It is my heart’s desire to share information to encourage, equip, and empower you on your journey.

For years, I have encouraged parents to rely on TV as little as possible. There are a number of reasons and in this blog we will explore some scientific research behind some of these.  Television is used for a number of reasons, including entertainment, to ‘buy’ time, for educational programs, and yes, even as the “babysitter.”

I’m a parent, and I can remember when my children were little. I understand that sometimes you can’t juggle multiple balls at once and TV provides a support. In fact, back in the old millennium there were even some real family programs that we enjoyed together. I am not sure if I would recommend anything for families to watch together today.

Where I draw the line is how much time is spent watching TV, especially when it is used for so many different reasons, as mentioned above.

Don’t worry, this is not my head-of-school-rant-against-evil-television post. What I want to share is not my many strong opinions on the subject, but some scientific research that you can use to help you decide how you want to parent your child.

Kuhl and The Gang’s Cool Study with Language

Recently, Dr. Patricia Kuhl, an expert on child development especially in the area of speech and brain development in babies, gave a fascinating TED talk. In it, she described a study she and her team performed in which babies were studied in order to determine their ability to distinguish different sounds from both their own native tongue as well as different languages, some they had never heard before.

The thought behind the study was that babies first learn the basic sounds of a language before they begin to put those component parts together to form actual words, phrases, and eventually sentences.

What Kuhl and her team discovered was remarkable. Babies at the age of 6-8 months display the traits of what Kuhl terms “universal linguists.” By this she means that babies at this age range can distinguish sounds from any language, not just their own culture. They are, as she says, “citizens of the world” at this age.

Some readers won’t be too surprised by this, as studies have been revealing for years the adept language abilities of babies. Where the study gets really interesting, though, is that by the age of 10-12 months, this innate ability of babies as “universal linguists” drops sharply. In a very short period of time, babies become “culture bound” like adults regarding their own language.

I think an example here will help illustrate this fascinating phenomenon.

Japanese speaking adults are not able to distinguish between the sounds “r” and “l” because in Japanese, these sounds are identical. Yet Japanese babies between the ages of 6-8 months have no problem whatsoever making this distinction, something even well educated Japanese adults who have learned English as a second language cannot do.

Yet by 10-12 months, these same Japanese babies are no longer able to make the same distinction. In contrast, American babies become more attuned to hearing the “r” vs “l” difference as they age from 6 to 12 months old.

Dr. Kuhl believes that during this critical period of development, babies begin to “take statistics” on the sounds they hear regularly. The more they hear certain sounds, the better they are at distinguishing them. Likewise, the worse they become at distinguishing other languages, as they were able to do only months earlier.

Okay, But What Does This Have to do With TV?

It is in the next step of the study that Kuhl and her team discovered some interesting insights into babies and how they acquire language.

To test their theory, Kuhl had American 6-8 month old babies regularly exposed to Mandarin to see how this affected them at 10-12 months. They were read to and spoken to in Mandarin for 12 special sessions. A control group of similar-aged American babies were not exposed to Mandarin during sessions of the same duration.

What the study revealed surprised even Kuhl. At 10-12 months old, the American babies exposed to Mandarin during this critical period displayed equal abilities in sound distinction as 10-12 month old Taiwanese babies spoken to in Mandarin their entire lives. Yet the American babies not exposed to Mandarin displayed the same sharp drop-off at 10-12 months.

To follow this up, Kuhl tried the same method with other groups of babies, only this time instead of a live teacher, the babies were exposed to Mandarin via audio and visual inputs, including television. Kuhl wanted to determine what role the social interaction played in language acquisition.

Can you guess what happened? You got it! The babies who were exposed to Mandarin through either audio or audio-visual methods but not through a real human being displayed virtually identical drop-offs as the babies who were never exposed to Mandarin at all! It was as though they had never been exposed to Mandarin whatsoever.

What Does All This Mean for Me as a Parent?

The obvious conclusion is that during this crucial period of development, babies only learn language from actual human beings. It is hard-wired into their brains, and no amount of Baby Einstein can undo that. This is precisely why “baby talk” and speaking “motherese” to your child is so important.

Other implications abound. One that many people wonder about is the effectiveness of TV programs that teach language to children.

My Reluctant Caveat: Now, in the name of scientific objectivity, it must be pointed out that this study is only for children of a certain age range. It did not examine older children. Therefore, I will not make any sweeping generalizations that might not be true (even if I want to do so!)

What I will say is this: Children learn best from other people – especially their parents. That’s why babies watch us so intently and why children continue to mimic adult behavior for years, even into their teens. They learn by watching, listening, and trying out. They are physically wired to pay attention to certain things and not others. What they pay attention to the most is other people, not flat screens of two-dimensional figures – no matter how cute the colors and music.

While I cannot make a claim that TV is ineffective for teaching important skills such as language acquisition, I feel comfortable in stating with great assurance that no TV program will ever be able to replace you as the parent.

I don’t know what your approach at home is or how much you rely on TV to fill up the hours. But if you are using TV to get through the day, telling yourself it is “educational” or “my kids really love it, they ask for it all the time,” you need to know that however useful it may be, TV is secondary to what you can offer your kids.

TV is not “evil” and does not need to be banned. Please do not misunderstand me here.

All I am trying to point out is that television should be used as minimally as possible. If you can get through a day, or a week, or two weeks – gasp! – without it, then I commend you!

Believe me, I know how exhausting it can be to raise a child. But likewise, I also know how rewarding it can be.

Don’t miss out on certain moments and memories because you simply hand that special time over to television. More importantly, don’t take them from your children, either.

Talk to your baby. Interact with your child while you are shopping, folding laundry, cooking, and simply ‘doing life.’ Look into their eyes while you are talking. This is what creates rich language development in your child’s brain. You’ll never get this window of opportunity back again. Cherish it!