Talk time for tots
Summerside story group helps develop language
SUMMERSIDE – Jacob Reeves, age 16 months, was offering an extra cushion to Sophia Coyle, 13 months, while Leigha Ramsay, six months, was snuggled in her mother’s lap watching.
Graham Carlile, 4, was leaning on his grandmother and listening to Hazel Birch read a story at the Summerside Rotary Library. Moms and grandmothers sat recently on cushions around a blue play mat with Birch, a library assistant in charge of children’s programs.
The Feb. 1 session of the library’s Wiggle Giggle Read program had a special guest, Marsha Lannan-MacDonald, a speech pathologist with Summerside Public Health department.
Story time is great for children to develop language skills, and for moms to chat with other moms, said the speech pathologist.
“We definitely recommend families attend programs like this,” she said. “Anywhere that children can interact with other children and hear people reading books to them, and just hearing language, is all good for them. The interaction with other kids is so important.”
Jacob’s mom, Crystal Isherwood, agreed. She takes Jacob to Wiggle Giggle “just so he can play with other kids.”
Birch read from books, led the group in games, hosted a musical jam session to “Down by the Bay” and rhymed about the parts of the body, “so they can connect the dots after a while,” she said.
Lannan-MacDonald said there are benefits right from birth from reading to children.
“They love to hear the sound of our voices, they love to hear you talk - about anything and everything really.”
The speech pathologist mostly works with children from birth to five years old who have trouble with language.
There are lots of factors to look at when deciding to get some extra help. But some clues to help parents decide if they want to get an assessment from a speech pathologist are if their child is still quite hard to understand at three years, or if they only say a few words.
Xiaopeng Liu has a different worry for Leigha. There are two languages spoken in their household.
“Is she going to mix it up?” asked Liu.
Lannan-MacDonald wasn’t concerned. Kids might “code switch” a bit when they’re young – putting two languages in one sentence but that will work itself out as language skills develop.
“Hearing babies babble and make sounds, those are all really good signs and good indicators of language coming along in babies,” she said.
Liu confirmed her daughter was on track.
“She gives speeches to her teddy bears every day.”