Investing in your child’s vocabulary

By Julie Douglas, MHC Family Program Director

Julie Douglas Photo

I’ll admit it; I love words. Imagine my excitement when I discovered www.savethewords.org, a website dedicated to saving words that are in danger of disappearing from the English language. According to the site, we are now using only about 7,000 words in 90 percent of our written communication. And the number of spoken words is probably even lower. In a world where OMG and LOL have become the go-to words for expressing excitement or joy, it is heartening to find a site working to save gems like quibbleism (act of beating around the bush) or bonifate (lucky.) Visitors to the site can adopt an endangered word. (I’m the proud parent of “icasm,” which means a figurative expression.)

In a study conducted by Betty Hart, Ph.D. and Todd Risely, Ph.D. from the University of Kansas, a link between the number of words spoken in a home and a child’s success in school was found. According to Hart and Risley, a child who hears 30,000 words before reaching age 3 has greater academic success in third grade, regardless of his socio-economic status. In fact, the richer the parent’s vocabulary, the more “verbally fluent” a child will be. Any parent who has ever stubbed a toe and let loose with a colorful turn of phrase knows that children pick up new words VERY easily.

So what does all this mean for parents? First, your child benefits from hearing you talk and read aloud. Think of it as putting words in a bank for your child. They are the currency of learning. Second, use a rich variety of words. Try to use new words when talking to your child; find interesting ways of describing things. Use a funny icasm once in awhile. And last, but not least, there are some very deserving words just waiting to be adopted. Pump up your own vocabulary and you will be the parent of a very bonifate child!

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