According to Randi Jacoby, a speech and language specialist in New York (1), "children require time and one-on-one feedback as they struggle"to build their language and cognitive skills. They also require the full presence of their caretaker "whether that's mother, father, grandparent, or nanny "to reassure as well as stimulate them and prepare them for the challenges that life will present to them.
Using our words and our full-hearted presence to help children be calm and heal not only gives them much-needed relief in the moment. It gives them the verbal and emotional tools they need to keep themselves healthy for a lifetime.
1) Quoted in The New York Times article, From Birth, Engage Your Child With Talk, by Jane E Brody (9/29/09).
