Language skills are a fundamental and essential aspect of communication, critical for both self-expression and social integration. This is what makes healthy language development in children so important - and something that can be encouraged and cultivated. The first 1,000 days of life are widely recognized as a critical period for development, offering a unique window of opportunity for language acquisition. During this time, meaningful interventions can make a significant impact. Language development in early childhood unfolds gradually, with each stage marked by specific milestones and activities that promote rich, healthy growth - from making sounds and forming words to constructing complete sentences.
The environment matters! Research shows that a toddler’s environment, particularly their parents’ socio-economic status, significantly impacts their language skills and vocabulary acquisition. Children from higher socio-economic backgrounds are likely to acquire four times more words than their peers from lower socio-economic backgrounds by age three. These gaps tend to persist throughout the child’s development.
Why reading? Reading plays a crucial role in building toddlers’ and children’s vocabulary, as books often include a broader range of words than those typically used in daily family life. Moreover, shared and dialogue-based reading between a parent and child fosters positive interaction, serves as fertile ground for play and imagination, facilitates learning about emotions and social situations, and can act as a calming and regulating anchor.
With this in mind, we developed reading workshops for parents, caregivers, and young children. These workshops provide practical knowledge and tools for reading with children. During the sessions, we demonstrate how to enrich the shared reading experience in ways that optimize early development - even during infancy. This includes guidance on choosing books, engaging toddlers in the reading process, bringing the text to life, and more. We chose to hold the workshops in municipal libraries across the city to ensure geographic accessibility, facilitate guided exposure to the libraries, and build a young community centered around the world of reading.
Partnering municipal units:
The Community, Culture, and Sports Administration; the Library Department; Digitaf
12–20 toddlers and their caregivers in each workshop
A one-time, one-hour workshop
Libraries across the city
* Facilitator * Promotion
Infants aged 3 months to 2 years and their parents
