Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/4waXXk7vFG4   Growing up with an older brother slows a young child’s language emergence.  French developmental linguists observed this phenomenon after observing more than 1100 children from birth to 5 and a half years.   Children of either gender with older brothers had a 2 month language delay compared with those having a sister.   The investigators suggest that this gap may be the result of more language stimulation from the sister as girls tend to develop verbal language faster than boys.   Young parents whose growing families have an oldest male child should give special time and provide more language stimulation for that younger sib.   Naomi Havron, Franck Ramus, Barbara Heude, etal. The Effect of Older Siblings on Language Development as a Function of Age Difference and Sex. Psychological Science, 2019; 095679761986143 DOI: 10.1177/0956797619861436   #Languagedevelopment #siblings