Nursery World - Positive relationships: A parent's guide to ... Speech

Children's speech is such a hot topic that the Government has appointed a speech tsar, or to be more precise, a 'champion of communication'. If you are the parent of a child who rarely stops talking, this may all seem a bit ludicrous, but dig a little under the hype and suddenly the focus on children's speech makes perfect sense.

A good starting point is to understand the role of language in children's lives, and indeed in our own. Language is used in all sorts of ways. First, it's a tool for communication. We use it to let others know what we want and also to understand what others are saying to us. This alone is important, because once children have mastered enough language to do this, they become less frustrated and usually far more co-operative. Strong language is also needed to develop friendships and, once in school, to read and write.

Thinking and listening

While the benefits of language for communication are impressive, perhaps the real magic in language is the way that it allows us to think, reason and make new connections in our minds. This is the point when children start to ask very interesting questions such as, 'How does the water in clouds stay up there?' or 'Where was I before I was born?'

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included