About 74 percent of parents read together with their children before the age of one, a survey published by Hsin-Yi Foundation on Wednesday found.
The foundation publishes an annual survey on language development in children aged one to six.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many academics expressed concern that wearing masks would hinder language development in young children. However, the survey found that Taiwanese parents had high confidence in their children’s language learning ability, foundation chairwoman Chang Sing-ju (張杏如) said.
Photo: Wong Yu-huang, Taipei Times
Parents reported that their children’s understanding, expressiveness and overall language ability was in line with normal development, and that their children showed the fastest progress in language development between the ages of 18 months and three years, the foundation said.
Parents reported that their children could communicate normally in daily contexts after the age of three, and that they gained strong proficiency in personal expression by the age of five, it said.
The survey also found that most parents actively interact with their children before the age of one, and that 88 percent of parents would immediately respond if their baby cries during that age.
The poll showed that 85 percent of parents regularly talked to their infants, and 80 percent said they would point to objects in front of their children and say the names of the objects.
“Daily conversations between parents and children, as well as singing and reciting nursery rhymes, and playing together are all important to language development,” the foundation said. “Reading together is also a common activity for families with young children, and is an important way for children to build up their vocabulary.”
The survey found that 98 percent of parents believe that reading together with their children is the best way to promote language development, it said.
“In fact, 74 percent of young children are introduced to books before they are a year old, and 44 percent of parents even start reading together with their children before they are six months old,” it said.
The foundation said it had worked with language and childcare experts to produce free reference material on language development for parents and caregivers of children up to eight years old.
Parents’ voices, expressions and body movements are not only a bridge for parent-child interaction, but also an important basis for children to learn to communication through language or imitating expressions, Chang said.
“The most important thing for parents to do is to create more opportunities for children to express themselves. You can make good use of picture books, toys and other interactive activities to provide opportunities for repeated practice,” she said.
The survey, conducted from Oct. 28 to Nov. 30 last year, collected 10,403 valid samples from parents with children aged one to six, the foundation said.
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