Did you know that by the age of three it can be determined approximately how well your child will read in the third grade?

It’s called the 30 million word gap.

By the age of three, children should know, or have been associated with 30 million words. Yes, you heard me correctly, 30 million words. Research shows that children from low-income families are less likely to come in contact with as many words as a child from a high-income family.

Children who are not talked or read to from 0-3 years of age have a higher risk of having a low reading proficiency by the 3rd grade. Not only could it affect their reading abilities but also their health, physical, socio-emotional and language development.

The barrier starts at home with parent and child interaction. It’s important that we start bridging the gap as early as the newborn stage of life. Children need as much exposure to words, vocabulary and facial expressions as possible.

As parents and educators it is important that we talk to, ask questions with, and read to our children. Here are some helpful tips to keep your child out of the 30 million word gap:

1. Talk to your child!

2. Use constant repetition of words.

3. Use new and interesting words. (Adjectives are wonderful!)

4. Read to your child.

5. Introduce new words in context.

6. Associate words with expressions, feelings and illustrations.

7. Let your child talk to you.

8. If your child is playing by themselves, try not to shh them.

9. Let your child have private speech.

10. Allow your child to be social.

11. Let them listen to music

12. Sing along to the music.

For more information please visit:

http://www.naeyc.org/tyc/article/the-word-gap