You will be able to observe the way your child gradually gains concepts in his use of language. He will often use the same word to describe similar things, so that apples, oranges, and peaches are all “apple,” because they are all round and fruit; and horses, cows, and sheep are all “horse” because they are all large animals with four legs. This doesn’t necessarily mean that he can’t tell the difference, only that he doesn’t have words to describe all of them, so he uses the most similar one.
Similarly, the questions your child asks you may be very simple because he can’t fully express what it is he wants to know. So when he says “What’s that,” he may be asking “What is it? What is it called? What does it do? How does it work?” all at once. Give him as much information as you think he can understand: “This is laundry soap. It’s just like a bar of soap, and I put it in the washing machine to make our clothes nice and clean.” Always try to answer the question he is really asking.
Socializing During the third year, your child’s verbal skills will be improved by talking to other children.
Girls at play Close friendships form the basis of a girl’s social world, and this will be reflected in her choice of language.
LANGUAGE IN GIRLS
Right from the moment of birth, girls are more responsive to the human voice than boys, and they have better verbal skills throughout childhood.
Girls talk earlier than boys, and begin to string words into sentences earlier. They have better articulation, pronunciation, and grammar, and are better at verbal reasoning. They also learn to read earlier than boys.
The structure of the female brain is believed to be the reason fir girls’ superior verbal skills : the speech centers are more tightly organized in the female brain than in the male brain, and have more and better connections with other functions of the brain.
LANGUAGE IN BOYS
Boys are almost always slower than girls at developing language skills, and this discrepancy lasts throughout childhood.
Boys are later in talking than girls, are slower to put words together in sentences, and take longer to learn to read. Speech disorders such as stuttering are fir more common in boys than in girls, and boys outnumber girls in remedial reading classes by four to one.
Although this difference in linguistic ability levels out somewhat during the teenage years, you can help your son’s language skills in the preschool years by reading aloud to him and playing lots of word games.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
There are many ways you can help your child as he becomes more skilled and confident in using language.
• Never overtly correct your child’s mistakes; diplomatically repeat what he has just said, but correctly. If he hesitates over a word, supply it instantly to maintain his momentum.
• Your child responds well to reasoning, so include him in simple problem solving, with questions, options, and solutions, openly discussing each step. Ask his opinion about something you know you can agree with so that he fees he is included and has made the decisions.
• When your child speaks to you, turn to him and listen attentively. Nod, and incline your head to show you are listening to him.
• In your child’s list of reading, include a choice of fairy tales, because they help your child come to terms with his own world without it hurting him, and because they improve his concepts of real and unreal; past, present, and future; fairness and injustice; good and evil, and so on.