TMW Tip: The most important years of learning


  • October 6, 2016
  • /   Shannon Nickinson
  • /   early-learning,TMW-Tips
Dr. Dana Suskind speaking at an auditorium

Dr. Dana Suskind of the University of Chicago speaking to a crowd at Booker T. Washington High School. Photo credit: Ron Stallcup

Babies aren’t born smart — they’re made smart.

And what makes them smart is simpler than you think.

Research proves that language has unmatched power to build a baby’s brain. The number of words a young child hears, and the tone and meaning of those words, is crucial to the way the brain develops.

That’s why the Studer Community Institute staff has created a series of radio spots using tips from Dr. Dana Suskind’s book, “Thirty Million Words: Building a Child’s Brain.”

“While early childhood is really the story of parents,” Suskind writes, “parents are often afterthoughts in program development and reforms for closing the achievement gap. They may be mentioned in the discussion but, in the end, they are treated as an add-on rather than the key took to make the necessary changes.”

Why is it important to bring parents into the fold early on in a child's life? Listen:

For more advice, check out TMW Tips: Building Your Baby's Brain, linked here.

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