Development and Language Acquisition
Books play a significant part in supporting baby’s growth and development by enriching their language and introducing them to the social world they are living in. However, studies find it is not just a matter of the words spoken or the story narrated, but of the unique interaction between storyteller and child.
During the first months of a baby’s life, the parent and child develop a unique parent-child couple relationship referred to as a Dyad. This Dyad includes touching, movement, and a mutual exchange of messages. This communication will usually be nonverbal and accompanied by gestures, smiles and sounds (tickling, playing catch, peek-a-boo games, lifting the child up in the air and more). After baby’s first birthday, this unique relationship is supplemented by the all-important object, which allows parent and baby to focus together on something else – a book, a toy, etc. This joint experience is of great importance in a child’s process of language acquisition.