Media centre
Talking made easier for parents
6 Aug 2007
Talking tips for parents are now available in 12 different languages from Talk To Your Baby, a campaign run by the National Literacy Trust to encourage parents to communicate with children from birth. The popular Quick Tips resource has been translated into Polish, Portuguese and Turkish in addition to nine other languages.
Quick Tips are for parents and practitioners to help children from birth to three develop good talking and listening skills. A master copy with space for practitioners to add their own translations is also available. The English text appears alongside each translation so the tips can be shared among all members of the extended family.
Talk To Your Baby Manager, Liz Attenborough says,
The more parents talk to their young children in their own language, the more they enable them to develop their talking, listening and concentration skills. Children who are good talkers in any language will learn to pick up English more easily when they get to nursery or school.”
Topics covered are sharing books, dummies, songs and rhymes, play, television, talking together, bilingualism and the social newborn.
Beautifully illustrated by Posy Simmonds, the tips can be downloaded from the Talk To Your Baby website at www.talktoyourbaby.org.uk and photocopied free of charge.
ENDS
Notes for Editors
The tips are available in:
English and Arabic
English and Bengali
English and Chinese
English and French
English and Gujarati
English and Panjabi
English and Polish
English and Portuguese
English and Tamil
English and Turkish
English and Urdu
English and Welsh
English only
English with a blank space for your own translation
1. About Talk To Your Baby
Talk To Your Baby is a campaign run by the National Literacy Trust to encourage parents and carers to talk more to children from birth to three. For more information visit www.talktoyourbaby.org.uk.
2. Talk To Your Baby - background
There is growing concern that increasing numbers of children are suffering from communication difficulties, and teachers and nursery workers feel young children’s speaking and listening skills are on the decline. One of the contributing factors is believed to be the lack of time adults and young children spend talking together. In a survey of heads of nurseries and schools admitting three-year-olds, 75% said they are concerned about a significant decline in children’s language competence at entry (National Literacy Trust/National Association of Head Teachers survey, 2001). Among nursery workers, 89% are worried that the occurrence of speech, language and communication difficulties amongst pre-school children is growing. The lack of adult and child time spent talking together was highlighted as the key reason by 92% of them (ICAN, 2004).
3. About the National Literacy Trust
The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity that changes lives through literacy. It links home, school and the wider community to inspire learners and create opportunities for everyone. www.literacytrust.org.uk
