Page 19 - teachYourChildToRead

Two years to three years

“Once a child reaches age 3, 85-90% of his/her core brain structures have
been formed⁷”.

A critical time for language

Language skills are vital for successful reading and the first three years
of a child’s life is the critical time for language learning. Young children
are ‘hard-wired’ to learn language. If a child is completely deprived of
language during these early years the language neural-developmental
pathways in the temporal lobe will not develop. Without these pathways,
the ability to recognise and comprehend language and to form speech
will diminish.

“For speech and vocabulary development, the critical window is open
between birth and 3 years of age. The sounds a child hears in those years will
largely determine the size of his/her adult vocabulary⁸”.

The key to giving your child the best chance of becoming a successful
reader is to spend quality time with them and provide experiences that
will build an understanding of language and knowledge of the world
around them.

“Young children learn best from-and need-interaction with humans
not screens ”.
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From two to three years children’s language skills grow rapidly. This is
the ideal time to try and extend their language ability even further by
asking questions.

TIP: Ask open ended questions such as “can you tell me
more?” or “how did that happen?” This will encourage
communicate in more detail.