Fascinating NYTimes article on child development

rs_bride · April 2013

https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/the-power-of-talking-to-your-baby/?src=me&ref=general

It essentially says that the entire academic gap between rich kids and poor kids can be explained (and therefore possibly prevented) by how much parents talk to their babies. I've been feeling guilty lately because we don't read to DD nearly as much as we read to DS, mostly because we're just busier with two. But also because she's obsessed with eating the books, which makes actually reading them hard. I guess we need to find a solution to that!

melody921 · April 2013

I feel guilty about the reading too! We read to DS every day from birth. DD is lucky to get a few books a week. We do talk to her, obviously, but I really need to carve out specific one-on-one time to read to her. It seems like all our alone time is spent

linzeek44 · April 2013

The Hart and Risley study is about so much more than reading. Reading is important but so is regular talk about happenings. Rich language [besides just giving directions] is important, so even just labeling and singing and having conversations is helpful.