Get Your Kid Ready for Kindergarten with Vocabulary Lessons By Age 2

A recent finding from a group of researchers from The Pennsylvania State University, Columbia University, and The University of California as reported by the Society for Research in Child Development has shown that two year old toddlers with a larger vocabulary than other children their age do better in kindergarten, and in turn have an advantage academically as they grow up. This larger oral vocabulary also gives them advantage behaviorally and socially as well.

In the study, 8,650 two year old children were measured for their vocabulary levels by a parent survey. Other factors evaluated along with vocabulary levels were the children’s demographic information, parenting involvement, and birth weight. A few years later, the children’s kindergarten teachers noted the children’s reading and math skills and found that the children who had larger vocabularies as reported by the parental survey performed better in school than their peers with smaller vocabularies at age 2. These children also displayed better behavior and had less anxiety than their peers with smaller vocabularies at age 2.

This study proves the importance of reading and word and letter related play with young children to help develop their vocabularies. Waiting until school time may hinder their achievement in the long run. The study mentions what children who were better prepared come kindergarten were also found to be more likely to attend college, live in higher-income areas, be married, and own homes in the future.

Make sure you read to your toddler from the start. The early information and education can change your child’s life.

How do you help to expand your child’s vocabulary? For more information like this, please visit All My Children.

Source:

Society for Research in Child Development

By: Melissa A. Kay