Study Says Mothers Contribute to Infants' Language Environment More than Fathers - East Idaho News

Study Says Mothers Contribute to Infants’ Language Environment More than Fathers

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Thinkstock 110414 MotherWithInfant?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1415157368756Wavebreakmedia Ltd/Wavebreak Media/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Researchers around the country say that their study determined that mothers play a significantly bigger role in the language environment experienced by infants than fathers do.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, looked at 33 infants born in two-parent homes by attaching recording devices to the children. Speech vocalizations were recorded at birth, at a few weeks of age, and at seven months old. In analyzing “language-like sounds,” researchers found that 70 percent of adult responses to infants’ vocalization came from mothers.

Interestingly, while 30 percent of adult responses came from fathers, only 10 percent came from fathers who were alone with their child. The other 20 percent were fathers who were with their child in the presence of the mother.

Researchers further found that children generally respond preferentially to their mother’s voice over their father’s.


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