Seattle doctors among those trying to shrink ‘word gap’

From the moment we wake up to when we sit down at a family meal, most of us take conversation for granted. Financial stability affords us the peace of mind to talk.

For children born into families who worry about unemployment or where they’ll sleep tonight, their little ears will hear 30 million fewer words by the time they’re 4 years old. It’s called the “word gap.”

In dozens of doctors offices across the country, reading is now part of the standard checkup. Antwanette Lyons at Seattle Children’s Odessa Brown Clinic said books are where a visit starts and where it ends. A book cart greets kids at the front desk, the waiting room is used for reading, and as kids leave, they get a brand new book to take home.

“We also have readers that come into the lobby, on different days they volunteer to come in and read with the kids, so they have a basket of books that they have and then the kids can say ‘I want to read this book’ and so they sit down and model ‘this is how you sit down with your child, this is how you read with your child,'” Lyons said.

Lyons is intimately involved in reducing the word gap among Seattle families who visit the clinic. She’s a CARE Coordinator, which means she gets parents what they need so that they are free to take care of the fun stuff – like reading.

“Climbing into bed with your child and reading a book is something that a lot of parents just say is part of the nighttime routine, you know, but if you don’t have that stability at night of where you’re going to be at or who’s going to be around, those things get lost,” Lyons said.

You can imagine how a parent facing homelessness, unemployment, or hunger might not have a lot of time to chit chat.

According to the initial report I read about the word gap in The New Yorker, in the 1980s two psychologists at the University of Kansas began comparing how parents of different social classes talked with their children.

They found wealthier families spoke to their children at an average rate of 2,100 words an hour. Working-class families spoke about 1,200 and low-income families spoke just 600.

The researchers went further and found the children of parents who spoke the most to them had higher I.Q. test scores at age three and later.

So, what do we do? Seattle Pediatrician Ivor Horn knows the word gap problem can feel like ‘great … another task to add to my plate.’

“It happens before they get to the school doors. It happens before they get to preschool and understanding those early child developmental stages and that impact on future learning. We’re understanding how vital it is,” Horn said.

She keeps it simple and asks parents to look for little opportunities to talk with their kids; describe how they’re changing the diaper, talk about groceries as they’re shopping, and involve them in dinner.

“Yes, it might go a little bit slower and it might not be as perfect as it would be, but that’s OK. The house isn’t perfect, the meal isn’t perfect, everything isn’t perfect, but you know what, I added to my kid today,” Horn said.

And she always reminds parents that they’re doing their best. Shrinking the word gap isn’t about shaming parents.

“I just like to remind parents that any talk is better than no talk. And loving talk is better than non-loving talk. And reinforcing and positive talk is better than negative talk and that keeps it simple. Because then I don’t have to worry about if I’m speaking Spanish or if I’m speaking Amharic. Any language spoken in a loving way – in a positive way – is good,” Horn said.