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By: Vanessa Pang Qi Pei U1530224B

 

 

Children with Down Syndrome_Parental Booklet-yy7eby

Q: Why is book reading important?

A: Positive book reading experiences impact children’s language and literacy skills

On a whole, children’s development is best supported by a parenting style known as responsive parenting. Through a responsive parenting style that is also attentive to children’s needs and interests, a trust and bond develop between the child and parent, which in turn allow the children to internalize this trust and then generalize their learning to new experiences [1].

One of these experiences between parent and child is book reading. Books offer to children the opportunity to learn new words, broaden their understanding of the world, expand their imagination, and appreciate the aesthetic of book illustrations. With parents as the first ones to introduce books to children, it is important that parents maintain a positive social reading routine that is comfortable and engaging for children.  When managed carefully, reading experiences at home and at school can create positive attitudes towards early literature and help motivate the child to learn to read [2].

 

Responsive parenting [1]: supportive parenting style that provides positive affections and high levels of warmth between parent and child.

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Q: What is my role as a parent/caregiver?

A: A parent acts as a steady and key role model for children’s language and literacy attitudes and experiences

From birth, children start learning language, learning about language, and learning through language [2]. With their first interlocutors being their family members (especially their parents), they learn how language is used as they listen to adults talking to them and as they interact with others.

Later on, children begin understanding that the print within their environment holds meaning from observing adults engaging in literacy activities such as reading out the instructions on signages, writing letters, or reading the newspaper [2].

Language [3]: Involves listening and speaking within a system that has its own rules and conventions.

Literacy [3]: Involves reading and writing in order to understand print and convey meaning using print.

Input [4]: Parental input involves exposure of verbal speech and feedback from parent to child; input is not only essential in terms of quantity (e.g. number of words), but quality (type of vocabulary and speech style used by parent) as well.

Ultimately, parents wield the most control over the input and the environment that children interact with and develop in. However, how specifically do parents influence children’s development in language and literacy?

Parent involvement in child’s learning and development is a significant predictor of early literacy success and future academic achievement [5]. In terms of promoting early literacy in your child, book reading is an intimate and achievable social routine.

Reading regularly with young children stimulates optimal patterns of brain development and strengthens parent-child relationships at a critical time in child development [6].

Regardless of the setting, at the library or a home, focus on engaging your child’s attention throughout the book reading. Book reading ought to be treated as more than a learning experience, but as an enjoyable one as well.

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Q: How does book reading contribute to my child’s social development?

A: Parent-child book reading is an intimate experience that requires social skills (e.g. listening, shared attention, interaction during Q&A breaks in the story, and so on)

The benefits of book reading, in terms of language and literacy development, have been well-studied. Reading to your children can start from infancy; for example, holding your baby securely while reading out aloud a book to them with eye-catching illustrations. While your child may not be able to understand the print in the book as a baby, the bright photos are enough to capture their attention and prepare their reaction for future book-reading routines.

Yet, book reading is also essential in children’s social development; when children learn about books and writing, they are inherently involved in social activities [7]. In the simple act of book reading to your child, they utilise social skills such as shared attention, turn-taking, and when to turn the pages. Through repetition, your child learns what is expected from the experience.

Once the story is familiar to your child, you can encourage them to lead the book reading while you act as the listener. By leading the book reading, your child needs to read social cues such as engaging the listener’s interest during the read-aloud and answer questions posed by the parent about the book.

When you read a book to your child, you not only expose them to new words and ways to communicate, but also develop your relationship with them and encourage social interaction.

Social interaction [8]: Positive social interaction involves building relationships through communication.

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Book Reading in Singapore’s Context

With Singapore’s bilingual education policy implemented from the preschool level, children are exposed to at least two languages in a formal school setting at a very young age. Parents play a vital role in supporting children’s language and literacy skills in both languages. It may be daunting to nurture a child’s language and literacy foundation in two languages, but studies have shown that children are adept in learning the conventions of the two languages simultaneously [9].

However, Singapore is also unique whereby the Mother Tongue that the child learns at preschool may not be the ethnic home language. Such cases include the parents choosing to enrol the child in a preschool with a Mandarin-only Mother Tongue curriculum, when the parents themselves are not ethnically Chinese. These children are then described as simultaneous trilinguals – such children may need extra support in order to perform alongside their bilingual peers but essentially, they will reach the same developmental milestones, as do bilinguals with their monolingual counterparts [9].

Mother Tongue: In the context of the Singapore education system, Mother Tongue is the ethnic language prescribed to a child based on their father’s ethnic group; it can be Mandarin, Malay, or Tamil.

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Milestones in Early Literacy

In order to establish an enriching and age-appropriate book reading routine with your child, it is essential as a parent that you are familiar with their developmental milestones in language and literacy development.

In a typically-developing child, developmental milestones would consist of:

Children’s Development	Parent Responses
Infancy (Ages zero to two) Explores items (including books) by putting them into their mouth Loves stories about familiar objects and people	Use books made out of non-toxic, soft, waterproof material that can go into the baby’s mouth Reading books with one word and picture per page to pique the baby’s interest
Toddler (Ages two to three) Able to use pictures in books to tell you what is happening in the story	Reading interactive pop-up books (where toddlers can open and close the flap themselves) entertain them
Young Preschooler (Ages three to four) Discusses or acts out story parts at times	Encourage them to act out scenes of stories through use of dolls, puppets or dramatisation Reading books with many pictures and short stories (illustrations help children imagine the scene)
Older Preschooler (Ages four to five) Create own stories	Parents can prompt child to start out with drawing and writing out their favourite scene in a book before moving onto writing their own version of a story (with a different ending or different characters) Scaffold child’s efforts in creating their own story and writing them out in a simple book (discuss with them the characters, setting, plot of story)

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How Else Can You Support Your Child?

How to Choose Books

There are diverse genres available in children literature. The table below suggests relevant book genres based on their age-appropriate and engaging characteristics. Do take note that some books may fall into two or more categories.

Type of Book	Features children enjoy
Storybooks Of family & home Fairy tales Animal stories Fables and folktales	Familiar storylines with happy endings Gives children a peek into a fantasy world, with a sense of adventure and excitement
Wordless books Comprising of photos or illustrations without accompanying text	Encourages children to use their own words to describe the photos or to tell the story Builds on their imagination
Interaction books Built with features for active child participation	Appeals to children’s senses (of sight, touch, sound) Have manipulatable features (e.g. picture flaps) that sustain children’s attention
Alphabet and word books Word books that have the name of the object printed alongside the object	Introduces alphabet letters and words Children learn new meanings and can associate the word with the object
Multicultural and cross-cultural books Culturally conscious books	Introduces to children a variety of people (of different races, ethnicities)

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Home-School Partnership

When parents and educators work together in the child’s development, they establish a mutual, close relationship known as home-school partnership [10], which contributes greatly to the child’s long-term success. By sharing information of the child’s development and interests across the two environments, both parties gain a better understanding of the child. Therefore, both can cater to the child’s needs, interests, and developmental growth.

Learning from school can be extended to the home environment. Learn more about the themes that your child is learning from their teachers for a comprehensive understanding. The teacher may disseminate this information through the parent communication book, regular handouts, or through parent-teacher conferences. Ask them about the central book being used in the lessons or seek their help in suggesting books relevant to the current theme. Teachers would be more than happy to help, knowing that you have a strong interest and influence in the child’s learning and development.

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Fun & Meaningful Activities with Your Child

My Name is…

Through the story of Chrysanthemum, children learn that everyone has a unique and meaningful name. After reading the book, discuss with your child the meaning behind their name and how special their name is. Get your children to spell out their name through methods such as moulding the letters of their name using playdough or tracing their name with paint (keep in mind your child’s developmental abilities). Frame the finished piece so your child remembers how special their name is!

Who is Your Favourite Character?

Read through together with your child one of their favourite stories. Look through the book together once more and ask them about their favourite character. Facilitate your child’s responses by supplying with positive adjectives (e.g. funny, kind, strong, happy) and share with them your own favourite character from the book. Get the child to draw out their favourite character.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

In your child’s very own retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, encourage your child to suggest other times that Goldilocks could have used in the Bears’ house. Use real examples of objects in the house and supply adjectives to your child for the description of the objects whenever necessary (e.g “This blanket is too hard.” “This blanket is too soft.” “This blanket is just nice.”)

My Very Own Story

Encourage your child to come up with their own story. Remember that they may not be able to finish the story in one sitting, so get them to continue working on the story at a future timing. Allow them to be as creative in their storytelling as they want to! You child may use dolls, handmade puppets, their own drawings and sentences, or dramatization.

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Further Resources

This parent booklet serves as a stepping stone in your journey of building bonds and language with your children through book reading. Here are some suggested resources that you can utilise to support your child’s literacy growth:

MOE

The Ministry of Education (MOE) Singapore provides a comprehensive guide of the local preschool curriculum named ‘Nurturing Early Learners’, which details the key stage outcomes of preschool education and the domains in which children learn. A guide for parents is available for perusal: you can collect a physical copy from your child’s preschool or access an online version through the MOE website.

NLB

The National Library Board (NLB) not only has public and regional libraries where you and your child can browse and read books together in a conducive setting. The libraries also hold regular storytelling and sharing sessions – plan your visit to the library by checking the available programmes with the library staff or online.

Children’s Bookstores

Independent children’s bookstores focus on children’s literature and is a good place to bring your child to nurture their love for reading. With colourful, life-sized displays and wide range of books across different genres, your child would be spoilt for choice. Reputable bookstores include My Greatest Child and Woods in the Books.

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References

[1] Landry, S.H (2014). The role of parents in early childhood learning. In: Tremblay RE, Boivin M, Peters RDeV, eds. Tremblay RE, topic ed. Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development [online]. http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/parenting-skills/according-experts/role-parents-early-childhood-learning. Updated December 2014. Accessed November 20, 2017.

[2] Machado, J. M. (1990). Early childhood experiences in language arts: Emerging literacy. Delmar Publishers.

[3] Republic of Singapore, Ministry of Education. (n.d.). Nurturing Early Learners: A curriculum for kindergarteners in Singapore. Retrieved October 15, 2017.

[4] Cartmill, E. A., Armstrong, B. F., Gleitman, L. R., Goldin-Meadow, S., Medina, T. N., & Trueswell, J. C. (2013). Quality of early parent input predicts child vocabulary 3 years later. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(28), 11278-11283.

[5] Fan, X., & Chen, M. (2001). Parental involvement and students’ academic achievement:  A meta-analysis. Educational psychology review, 13(1), 1-22.

[6] High, P. C., Klass, P., Donoghue, E., Glassy, D., DelConte, B., Earls, M., Lieser, D., McFadden, T., Mendelsohn, A., Scholer, S., & Schulte, E. E. (2014). Literacy promotion: an essential component of primary care pediatric practice. Pediatrics, 134(2), 404-409.

[7] Wittmer, D. S, & Petersen, S. H. (2010). Infant and toddler development and responsive program planning: A relationship-based approach (2^nd ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.

[8] National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. (n.d.). Learning and developing through interactions [Brochure]. Author. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from http://www.ncca.ie/en/Practice-Guide/Aistear/Learning-and-developing-through-interactions-pp-27-30-and-46-47-.pdf

[9] Berens, M. S., Kovelman, I., & Petitto, L. A. (2013). Should bilingual children learn reading in two languages at the same time or in sequence?. Bilingual research journal, 36(1), 35-60.

[10] ECDA. (2017, November 22). Working together with parents. Retrieved December, 2016, from https://www.ecda.gov.sg/growatbeanstalk/Pages/articledetail.aspx?type=5&category=Partnership with Parents and the Community#.Wh1nDkqWbIU

 

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CLASSROOM LEARNING & SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION-29dnoor

A child learns from the people around him or her. As such, the role of the environment plays an extremely important role. During the early years of development where the family largely determines a child’s exposure, how can we then ensure that our children are placed in the most optimal language-learning environment?

As parents and caregivers, you want the best input for your child during the crucial early years of language development. Particularly in Singapore, most children grow up being speakers of at least two languages (Mother tongue, English, dialects, other foreign languages). Accordingly, the amount of learning that a child has to do to grasp two languages instead of one increases as well.

For a child who is learning language, it is very important for family members to act as a scaffold by providing “step-by-step” support when a child is learning. Some ways that this support can be given include providing task organization, guidance and feedback for the child [1]. For example, the use of repeated speech when talking to infants at 7 months old has been found to contribute to the development of a larger vocabulary at 20 months old [2]. Furthermore, as your child will have to eventually become an independent learner, the amount of support you provide should also gradually decrease as his language proficiency develops [3]. The influence of the family and how parents can facilitate healthy language development in young children is addressed below.

 

“How can parents influence language development?”

As parents, you have a significant role to play when it comes to influencing the language development of your child, especially during the early years of childhood where most of his interactions revolve around the family. Accordingly, it was found that 86% to 98% of children’s vocabulary (by the age of three years old) were also found in their parents’ vocabulary [4]. In other words, the children learnt from their parents and picked up what their parents knew. That being said, language learning is something that your child ultimately has to do

for himself. However, there are several ways you can provide more support for your child:

Ask Questions!

Studies have shown that parents tend to contribute to narrative discussions more when their children are younger [5], and there may be a good reason for doing so. Children’s abilities to talk about events at preschool ages have been found to predict their language skills later on in life [6], and the development of this ability to narrate about happenings may also be facilitated by parents [7]. For example, parents who prompted their children with questions that made them think about the context of the situation (e.g. when and where something happened) helped in the development of narrative skills six months later [1]. Hence, try to ask your child questions when recounting about past events that will make them think about the context (e.g. the “who, what, where, when, how” type of questions).

Elaborate and Expand!

Young children have been found to remember words better when the same words are presented repeatedly [8]. While repetition is good when it comes to teaching your child new words, it is advisable to expand on the vocabulary that they use as this can help them to learn the added words more effectively [9]. For example, when a child refers to a ball as “ball”, you can further expand your child’s vocabulary by saying “red ball”, or even “big red ball”.

Research has also found that children whose parents elaborate when talking about past experiences with them show benefits in terms of language development [10]. A study that was done on 275 families with children between 2 to 48 months also showed that 2-way conversations between parents and children more is associated with healthy language development in children [11]. As such, try to engage your child in more conversations about different topics that he can relate to, such as asking him what he likes the most about his favourite TV show, or about a family outing that he remembers.

Praise Them! 

Another way that you can support your child’s language development would be to provide praise when he achieves something based on his own effort. Studies have found that parental praise can have positive effects on a children’s motivation, such as adopting the belief that effort brings success and that their abilities are in their own hands [12]. When you praise your child for something he has done, it can help him to learn that he is in control of the things around him and in turn build confidence in him that can motivate him to learn.

The amount of praise that parents give to their children is also related to the overall language environment that a child is in, which ultimately affects how well they learn language. A particular study which followed 42 families for two and a half years showed the importance of early experience in the family on language development [4]. The study found a 30-million-word disparity (number of words the child heard) between the number of utterances that children from families of higher and lower social economic statuses (SES) heard. Furthermore, it was found that high SES families provided 6 encouragements for every discouragement, whereas lower SES families provided 1 encouragement for every 2 discouragements. These results were also found to be related to the language outcomes of the children when they entered school. A particularly well-advocated strategy [13] that has been promoted in order to close this gap between different income groups is to: “Tune In” (i.e. by paying more attention to what your child is saying), “Talk More” (use more descriptive words) as well as “Take Turns” (engage your child in conversation).

Therefore, the type and amount of words that you choose to say to your child matters, and it is recommended that you not only engage your child with questions, but also to elaborate and expand on the things that you say. Additionally, do build up their confidence and interest in learning by praising and encouraging them for even their smallest efforts.

 

“Do siblings affect language development?”

Aside from the influence that parents have on a young child’s language development, siblings also play an important role. Having more than one child not only allows for companionship (and perhaps some ruckus), it actually creates a language environment that is different from that of a single-child family. However, there is no straightforward answer to how having more than one child in the family affects language development as many things have to be considered.

Firstly, there are advantages of simply having another sibling, such as learning how to communicate with others better. Two young children will not speak to each other the same way an adult would speak to a child. While adults may adjust their speech to match the level of a child, the older child may not do so with the younger child. As a result, young children often have to communicate and make sense of the things being said with lesser support [14]. Interestingly, this has actually been shown to prepare children for communicating with their peers and other strangers as they grow older [15].

Secondly, research has found that older siblings tend to have larger vocabularies than younger siblings, while younger siblings tend to have better conversational skills [16], [17]. While older siblings may know more words due to having a greater amount of exposure (e.g. they are older, parents had more time to focus on them alone), the conversational advantage that younger siblings have could be because of the different language environment that the younger child is exposed to. For example, the younger sibling may be exposed to more “mature and complex” conversations based on the interactions between the older sibling and parent, which is not something that the older siblings were exposed to [18].

Siblings can also teach each other language and literacy concepts, creating a richer home learning environment [19]. Not only are you never too old to learn, you are also never too young to teach. Studies have shown that language teaching between siblings work both ways, where younger siblings also have knowledge to offer their older siblings [20]. In particular, an older sibling’s awareness of the younger sibling’s learning capacity also helps to facilitate language development [21], where older siblings may also scaffold language learning of their younger siblings. As parents, you can help your older children to create a greater awareness for the language abilities of their younger siblings by getting them to put themselves in the shoes of their younger brother/sister, or to encourage them to take on the role of helping their siblings in language learning.

 

“What can we do as a family?”

Suggested Activity: Tell Stories!

A way that many parents can connect and interact with their children is through the reading of storybooks. Not only is this something children enjoy, it can also help them to develop their linguistics skills. While daily conversation is definitely useful in exposing your child to the language used, words that are used in storybooks tend to vary more than the words used in daily life [22]. This provide a richer context for children to learn a wider range of vocabulary. Correspondingly, studies have also shown that families that read more books with their infants tend to have infants who know more words [23].

How you engage in book-reading with your child is also key. When reading, it is beneficial to take on an interactive approach by prompting your child with questions and to get them to take part in discussions about the stories that are read [24]. Furthermore, you can read to your children together as a family and also use these stories as a means to create discussions between your children of different ages so as to allow siblings the opportunity to converse and teach one another, as well as for you as parents to elaborate on their utterances as well as provide your own input which will foster your child’s interest in reading as well as help him in developing his language skills.

 

 

References

 

[1]        C. Peterson and A. McCabe, “A social interactionist account of developing decontextualized narrative skill.,” Developmental Psychology, vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 937–948, 1994.

[2]        R. S. Newman, M. L. Rowe, and N. B. Ratner, “Input and uptake at 7 months predicts toddler vocabulary: the role of child-directed speech and infant processing skills in language development,” Journal of Child Language, vol. 43, no. 05, pp. 1158–1173, 2015.

[3]        L. Skibbe, M. Behnke, and L. M. Justice, “Parental Scaffolding of Childrens Phonological Awareness Skills,” Communication Disorders Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 189–203, 2004.

[4]        B. Hart and T. R. Risley, “The early catastrophe: The 30 million word gap by age 3,” American Educator, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 4–9, 2003.

[5]        A. A. Zevenbergen, A. Holmes, E. Haman, N. Whiteford, and S. Thielges, “Variability in mothers’ support for preschoolers’ contributions to co-constructed narratives as a function of child age,” First Language, vol. 36, no. 6, pp. 601–616, 2016.

[6]       T. M. Griffin, L. Hemphill, L. Camp, and D. P. Wolf, “Oral Discourse in the Preschool Years and Later Literacy Skills,” First Language, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 123–147, 2004.

[7]        K. Farrant and E. Reese, “Maternal Style and Childrens Participation in Reminiscing: Stepping Stones in Childrens Autobiographical Memory Development,” Journal of Cognition and Development, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 193–225, 2000.

[8]        J. F. Schwab and C. Lew-Williams, “Repetition across successive sentences facilitates young children’s word learning.,” Developmental Psychology, vol. 52, no. 6, pp. 879–886, 2016.

[9]        M. F. Hovell, J. B. Schumaker, and J. A. Sherman, “A comparison of parents models and expansions in promoting childrens acquisition of adjectives,” Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 41–57, 1978.

[10]     P. Wareham and K. Salmon, “Mother–child reminiscing about everyday experiences: Implications for psychological interventions in the preschool years,” Clinical Psychology Review, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 535–554, 2006.

[11]     F. J. Zimmerman, J. Gilkerson, J. A. Richards, D. A. Christakis, D. Xu, S. Gray, and U. Yapanel, “Teaching by Listening: The Importance of Adult-Child Conversations to Language Development,” Pediatrics, vol. 124, no. 1, pp. 342–349, 2009.

[12]     E. A. Gunderson, S. J. Gripshover, C. Romero, C. S. Dweck, S. Goldin-Meadow, and S. C. Levine, “Parent Praise to 1- to 3-Year-Olds Predicts Childrens Motivational Frameworks 5 Years Later,” Child Development, vol. 84, no. 5, pp. 1526–1541, Nov. 2013.

[13]     The Straits Times. (2015, May 24). Closing the ’30 million word gap’ for children. [Online]. Avialable: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/closing-the-30-million-word-gap-for-children

[14]    M. E. Barton and M. Tomasello, “Joint Attention and Conversation in Mother-Infant-Sibling Triads,” Child Development, vol. 62, no. 3, p. 517, 1991.

[15]     S. Mannle, M. Barton, and M. Tomasello, “Two-year-olds conversations with their mothers and preschool-aged siblings,” First Language, vol. 12, no. 34, pp. 57–71, 1992.

[16]     C. P. Jones and L. B. Adamson, “Language Use in Mother-Child and Mother-Child-Sibling Interactions,” Child Development, vol. 58, no. 2, p. 356, 1987.

[17]     L. Fenson, P. S. Dale, J. S. Reznick, E. Bates, D. J. Thal, S. J. Pethick, M. Tomasello, C. B. Mervis, and J. Stiles, “Variability in Early Communicative Development,” Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, vol. 59, no. 5, p. i, 1994.

[18]     Y. Oshima-Takane, E. Goodz, and J. L. Derevensky, “Birth Order Effects on Early Language Development: Do Secondborn Children Learn from Overheard Speech?,” Child Development, vol. 67, no. 2, p. 621, 1996.

[19]     A. Segal, N. Howe, R. J. Persram, S. Martin-Chang, and H. Ross, ““I’ll Show You How to Write My Name”: The Contribution of Naturalistic Sibling Teaching to the Home Literacy Environment,” Reading Research Quarterly, Sep. 2017.

[20]     N. Howe, S. D. Porta, H. Recchia, and H. Ross, ““Because if you don’t put the top on, it will spill”: A longitudinal study of sibling teaching in early childhood.,” Developmental Psychology, vol. 52, no. 11, pp. 1832–1842, 2016.

[21]     H. Prime, S. Pauker, A. Plamondon, M. Perlman, and J. Jenkins, “Sibship Size, Sibling Cognitive Sensitivity, and Childrens Receptive Vocabulary,” Pediatrics, vol. 133, no. 2, 2014.

[22]     M. Senechal and J.-A. Lefevre, “Parental Involvement in the Development of Childrens Reading Skill: A Five-Year Longitudinal Study,” Child Development, vol. 73, no. 2, pp. 445–460, 2002.

[23]     J. L. Montag, M. N. Jones, and L. B. Smith, “The Words Children Hear,” Psychological Science, vol. 26, no. 9, pp. 1489–1496, Apr. 2015.

[24]     Arnold, D. H., Lonigan, C. J., Whitehurst, G. J., & Epstein, J. N. (1994). Accelerating language development through picture book reading: Replication and extension to a videotape training format. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86(2), 235-243. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.86.2.235

 

 

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