July 15, 2015
New research demonstrating the importance of communicating with your child right from birth. Founder and director of the Thirty Million Words Initiative at the University of Chicago, Suskind provides an extensive analysis of why it is imperative to speak to your child from the moment he or she is born. Using research data to support her concepts, the author shows that "the essential wiring of the human brain, the foundation for all thinking and learning, occurs largely in our first three years of life...optimum brain development is language-dependent." Based on her investigations, Suskind and other research scientists have determined that a child who hears a vast amount of language during the critical first three years of life will have a higher IQ and score higher on tests and excel in science, technology, engineering, and math over children who hear less conversation. After giving ample scientific evidence to back her ideas, the author provides readers with the basic three-step method she devised for her institute to help parents and others involved in early childhood development implement this concept, as well as sample conversations to help parents get started. This process involves tuning in to the child and his interests-talking with a child, not just to him-and engaging in an actual conversation with the child. According to Suskind, even babies who haven't learned to speak can be engaged, and it is vital to begin this process from the baby's earliest moments. The author also emphasizes how important it is for children to learn a second language, if possible, during the first three years of life; this also helps build highly important neural connections that will be useful later in life. Suskind's vision is empowering, her methods are surprisingly simple to execute, and the results have been proven to nurture children toward becoming stable, empathetic adults. Informative, exciting new data that confirms the significant benefits gained by talking to your child.
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April 15, 2015
After a 1995 study found that by their fourth birthdays some children heard 30 million more words than others, leading to a significant achievement gap, medical doctor Suskind joined with sister-in-law Beth Suskind to found the Thirty Million Words Initiative. This successfully tested program aims to bridge that gap by showing parents from all walks of life what kinds of parent-child communication optimize neural development.
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Starred review from September 1, 2015
Cochlear implants must be received within the first three years of life, during a crucial brain development window, in order for children born deaf to learn language quickly and to blend with their hearing peers in academic achievement. Suskind (M.D., Univ. of Chicago) discovered that even when children born deaf received the implants within that timeframe, those who heard more spoken words adopted language quickly while others floundered. This gap had a strong correlation to socioeconomic status: in a study done by University of Kansas researchers Betty Hart and Todd Risley, three year olds in wealthier families had heard thirty million more words than those from poorer families. Suskind founded the Thirty Million Words Initiative to help close this gap. Suskind's book discusses the initiative and its use of the 3Ts, "Tune in," "Talk more," and "Take turns," to educate parents. Simply talking to children more sets the stage for literacy, self-regulation, and academic success later in life. With awareness about the crucial period of language development, all families can provide a rich language environment simply through narrating bathtime and other everyday activities. VERDICT Parents, other caregivers, and early childhood educators will be moved and inspired by this work.--Laurie Neuerburg, Victoria Coll.-Univ. of Houston Lib.
Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.