The Words We Speak

During the first few years of life, children learn how to learn. They watch, they listen, and most importantly, they DO!

Excellent early childhood educators provide what young children need to thrive and learn. They provide the proper environment for exploration, the warmth of human touch, and the words young children hear. Just how important are those words?

The way we talk to young children becomes the way they talk to themselves.- Lily Howard Scott

In her new book about science-based language, Lily Howard Scott discusses the importance of the early years and the importance of the language we use. I provided the link to buy the book from Amazon for your convenience. (pre-order before the Jan 31 release)

The most important concepts in the book are:

1. The early years matter greatly.

   
   

2. What we say over and over to very young children will become the words they use to talk to themselves.

   
   

3. Those who care for children during their first few years of life matter a lot especially if we want to raise smart children who make careful and informed choices throughout their lives.

"One misconception that I hear sometimes is zero to five doesn't really matter-that kids really come online when they can talk to you in a fluent way. What the research reveals is that really nothing could be further from the truth."-Lily Howard Scott

Children learn to make choices before the age of 3. They develop their approach to solving problems. When a young child hears over and over again that they can choose a different toy over aggression towards another child and they have a trusted teacher close by to help them, they can learn to choose without harming another child.

Excellent early childhood educators practice the skill of co-regulation with their charges. This can only be done in a home or program with good adult-to-child ratios and lots of support for the caregivers.

Unfortunately, only 10% of child care in the US is considered high-quality.

That's why early childhood rocks offers you access to our free community of support. When you join you immediately get our eBook, Magic Words, how to get kids to listen without yelling or time-outs.

In it, you'll find out what to say when your child tattles, refuses to clean up, hits,

or refuses to comply. This is a priceless resource that you will not regret getting your hands on!

Nanci J Bradley is an early childhood and family educator, author, teacher, family aerobics instructor, and an all-around fun-loving person. She believes in the power of sleep, healthy eating, lifelong learning, and most of all, PLAY!  She studied early childhood ed at Triton College and received her BS in education in 1986 from NIU. She received her MA in human dev from Pacific Oaks College in 2011. She lives and teaches in Madison WI and is the founder of early childhood rocks, a non-profit org dedicated to creating change through early childhood education.