Communication in Early Childhood

Good communication in early childhood is essential because without communication the child wanders hopelessly around looking for some explanation as to why things work the way they do. When born, children know who to look for, listen to and bond with. Even before birth their brains are already somewhat “prewired for survival” (Gerrig & Zimbardo 2008) Doctors and scientists have researched that in the womb babies favour the sound of their mother’s voices rather than voices of their fathers or a stranger. This is backed up by experiments showing that the fetal heart rate increases when the mothers voice is heard and decreases when a strangers voice is heard or even their fathers. This experimental research proves that the thoughts had about communication starting later on in babies mental development or even toddlers is a myth on all accounts. Children are “designed to communicate from birth” (Stamm & Spencer 2007) How this ability is cultivated depends on the environment in which the child is surrounded in.
The ability to communicate effectively in early childhood settings is crucial in social and mental development. When communicating with young children eye contact, body language and listening is all important factors to their learning development. Seventy percent of communication is non verbal so hand gestures and facial expressions with infants and small children can be interpreted in the wrong context if perceived to be scary or too intense. Keep in mind the environment in which the child is surrounded needs to be relaxed, clutter free. If there are too many noises or it is a very hectic environment the child is likely to be distracted easily which can hinder the communication development. “Communication refers to the development of a language system and language skills” (Stamm & Spencer 2007) From a very early age children know how communicate. Whether it is by body language or speech, children develop their foundations for communicating from at first their