Study Says Talking With Your Toddler Could Boost IQ Scores And Language Skills Later

Talking to your toddler doesn’t only teach them speech…

Conversations are linked to better language skills as well as higher IQ scores when they get to school, according to a new study that has recently been published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

The team of researchers started their research with children 18-months-old to 2-years-old, recording — both the words the children heard from adults, and their adult-child conversations — once a month, for a total of six months. 

Researchers then brought the children back for language and cognitive testing when they were nine to 14-years-old.

According to the study, which controlled for socioeconomic factors, children that had taken more “turns” speaking when talking back and forth with adults had an average of 14 to 27% higher performance on IQ tests, verbal comprehension, as well as receptive and expressive vocabulary scores.

Both the quantity and quality of language are known to affect the future language and mental development of children.

So with this in mind – get talking with your tot!