It’s a common phenomenon that children seem to flourish in speech and communication development over the Christmas holidays. So what’s the secret ingredient? Is it all the rum balls and Christmas pudding or something much simpler?
Parents often report at the end of January that over the Christmas school holiday period they see unprecedented development in their child’s talking and social skills. Parents of pre-schoolers find themselves astounded by their children expressing in ways they never have before. Unclear speech will often become clearer over the summer with development of new speech sounds the child previously couldn’t say.
Language tends to develop in a similar fashion with children constructing more complex and detailed sentences within their speech and using language to communicate in new ways. Even children’s social skills have been known to improve considerably over this period.
So what is in the air at this time of year to cause these amazing developments? The secret ingredient is age-old and very simple … family and connection.
For most children, development of communication is fuelled by their desire to connect with the people around them.
The Christmas season is generally a time when children are surrounded by family, friends and peers. When out of the term-time routine, some families also enjoy a different quality of interaction with their children. There is more space for parents to connect with them and kids can feel that they are seen and heard on a level that they don’t experience in the day-to-day.
When children feel seen and truly heard, they express and initiate the development of the skills needed for that expression.
The question is, how can we take the connection and sense of community that children experience at Christmas time into their each and every day?
This article was originally published in the December 2015 Edition of Haven Magazine.
When children feel seen and truly heard, they express and initiate the development of the skills needed for that expression.
The question is, how can we take the connection and sense of community that children experience at Christmas time into their each and every day?
This article was originally published in the December 2015 Edition of Haven Magazine.
