"Say Mama"

In an article by Yee et al., called Changes in visual object recognition precede the shape bias in early noun learning, researchers explore the idea that our language development, as well as our development in object recognition, are "intertwined". They test their hypothesis on children aged 18-24 months old. To do so the researchers present various objects to the children and asked them to verbally choose an object by its name. The tasks ranged from "basic noun-caricature" recognition where somewhat familiar objects (a flower) were presented and a simple noun response of the word "flower" was required, to a slightly more difficult task of "shape bias", where novel objects were presented instead of familiar ones. The children were grouped according to their level of vocabulary. They found that children who had a more substantial vocabulary were able to more easily name objects that they were familiar with, which backs up their idea of how children develop a better representation of common objects whose names they would hear spoken more often and then they start to build off of that and begin to develop a more broad representation of more novel objects.




I know I'm essentially beating a dead horse here but hey, the proof is in the pudding... or I guess the evidence is in the articles, but again EXPOSURE AND EXPERIENCE. Those are the fundamental tools to help your child start picking up on the objects around them.


#TODDLERTIP... Spend time with your children whether it's a game of "Ispy" on the way to school, making a fake dinner in their kitchen set, or finding cool videos and worksheets on the internet. A few minutes a day can really help in this OH SO crucial point in their development!





















References

Yee, M. N., Jones, S. S., & Smith, L. B. (2012). Changes in visual object recognition precede the shape bias in early noun learning. Frontiers in psychology, 3, 533.

https://www.amazon.com/Scholastic-reader-Level-Picture-Riddle/dp/0439763096

https://www.amazon.com/Szsmart-Saxophone-Sunflower-Creative-electric/dp/B0773JFBMX