Help Your Child Reach the 40 Million Word Goal

How many words does your child need to hear in the early years? Research tells us that children who hear at least 40 million words or more in the first four years of life develop early conversational skills, learn to read on time, do better in school, and have more communication opportunities in the future. Read how you can help your child with hearing loss meet the 40 million word goal!

Build That Brain!

Your child’s brain is one of the most powerful processors of information on the planet. Science shows that the first three years represent the most important window for brain growth and development. Your child’s brain is wired and ready to listen and learn language from you during the interactions and conversations you have with them every single day. Every word, phrase, song, and story you share with them becomes a permanent part of their brain’s ever growing network structure.

Hearing Technology Delivers Language to the Brain

Your child needs to hear all the language occurring around them. Today’s hearing technology makes it possible for their brain to have excellent access to all of the sounds of speech and language. Here are the most important steps to providing full access:

• Make sure your child’s hearing technology is working at full capacity
• Know the current status of your child’s hearing through daily listening checks
• Keep your child’s hearing technology on 10+ hours per day

Your 40 Million Word Goal 

Hearing 40 million words by age four may seem like a lot of words. The good news is that you already have all of the skills to help your child reach this goal! You’ll easily reach your 40 million word goal by talking, reaching, and singing together every day. Your child’s brain actually seeks and recognizes patterns in speech, songs, phrases, and sentences. Every time you talk with them, you’re continuing to expand their existing and rapidly growing brain networks. Every word said is a seed with the potential to develop roots, branches, leaves, and flowers.  

Just remember you’re already on your way to the 40 million word goal! Keep the conversation going and your child will be using the very words, songs, phrases, and sentences they hear to reach spoken language success!

For encouragement to meet the 40 million word goal, join the Family Support Community and hear from other families who are growing their child’s brain to listen, talk and read on par with their hearing siblings and friends!

Additional Resources:

• Thirty Million Words: Building a Child’s Brain - Dana Suskind
• TMW: Center for Early Learning + Public Health
• Video: The Early Language Gap is About More Than Words
• The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3
• MIT Brain Study: Back-And-Forth Talk Key To Developing Kids' Verbal Skills