The Facts
A study has found that toddlers who hear more speech in everyday life have more myelin in language-related areas of their brains. The more one speaks to a toddler, the more it helps their brains to develop in early childhood the study claims.
Myelin is a fatty substance that forms around nerves, including those in the brain. Myelin allows electrical impulses to fire more quickly and efficiently.
The Spin
Narrative A
These exciting new findings could support a more sophisticated understanding of language processing. Although previous work has shown a similar association in four to six-year-olds, this new research has pushed this association much earlier in development. As the first study of its kind, this offers important foundations for furthering our understanding of childhood development.
Narrative B
The gist of this knowledge has been around for ages. Parents who engage in reading, singing, and talking with their children build an early foundation for language acquisition. A simple daily activity such as making funny faces while playing or pointing out objects in a book can help infants learn new words. Humans are social creatures.