Quiet, the Baby is Learning to Talk!

The typical American household is not exactly quiet. There may be televisions on in one or more rooms. Music playing. Phones ringing. Doors shutting. The clothes dryer rumbling and the exhaust fan over the stove at a low roar. Fans, air-conditioners or heaters, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, garbage disposals, and, mostly, people all contribute to a sometimes extremely noisy environment. And that doesn't even touch on what's going on outside with leaf blowers and lawn mowers. How does a noisy environment affect the baby?

Background noise and learning

For several years, psychologists have been researching the impact of background household noise on a baby's ability to learn to talk. George Hollich, of Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., says his research shows that it "seems to be the case that in noisy households, kids have lower vocabulary skills."

In an earlier study, researchers at John Hopkins University found that infants in the early stage of language development were held back when their environment was too noisy. "Background noise," the study concluded, "such as other children playing or watching TV, poses the same problem for children that an older adult with hearing loss might encounter at a crowded cocktail party."

In an environment with significant background noise, babies and older children simply have a harder time picking out words, catching verbal inflections, following the cadence of speech, watching the speaker, and realizing the meaning of what is said. Noise also may make people of all ages irritable or desirous of tuning out---two responses that do not facilitate learning, either.

Noise is not a problem for just infants in the early stage of language acquisition. As reported in Education World, "Have You Heard? Noise Can Affect Learning!," studies have demonstrated clearly that, even for sixth graders, noise levels can negatively impact a child's reading level.

In fact, according to Gary Evans, Cornell University environmental psychologist, "[C]hronic noise is having a devastating effect on academic performance of children in noisy homes and schools."

Background noise and stress

Besides being an obstacle to learning, noise can be physically detrimental. An extreme case is nighttime noise from aircraft or traffic. Scientists at the Imperial College London found that exposure to loud noise increased people's blood pressure even while they were sleeping.

In a second study conducted by Cornell's Gary Evans, researchers found that "the low-level but chronic noise of everyday local traffic can cause stress in children and raise blood pressure, heart rates and levels of stress hormones."

Quieter is better

Clearly, when we say we "need some peace and quiet," no doubt we mean it! Not only does noise contribute to stress levels, turning down the television (or, better yet, turning it off when it is simply background noise) and minimizing other noisy distractions may be important to help your baby acquire good language skills now and a larger vocabulary later.

So, take an informal noise audit of your home. Is it quiet enough to let baby hear and see those who are talking? When you hold your baby and cuddle and coo, does your "infant-directed" babytalk seem clear and calm to your baby---or is your speech turned into the audio equivalent of a bowl full of mush by too much background noise?

Babies start to babble strings of sounds and words at age 6- or 7-months (as this video, "Baby Talking," shows---notice the hand gestures and the eye contact the baby makes with her parents as she "talks"). Babies learn to talk by watching and listening, then by trying it out for themselves. This process requires minimizing distractions so far as possible in our noisy world.

As Vincent Iannelli, M.D., says in "How To Talk To Your Baby," "You may wonder how much of what you say is understood by your baby. But don't worry. When you talk, your baby is listening." And to help your baby listen---as well as to make a better learning environment for your older kids---it's well worth trying to cut out unnecessary background noise. Providing some quiet time for your family could be a wonderful, and very educational, thing.

Sources:

"Psychologists Test Effects of Household Noise on Children's Verbal Development," Science Daily.

"Have You Heard? Noise Can Affect Learning!," Education World.

"Aircraft Noise Raises Blood Pressure Even While People Are Sleeping, Says Study," Science Daily.

"Researchers Find Everyday Traffic Noise Harms The Health And Well-Being Of Children," Science Daily.

"Baby Talking," Metacafe.

Vincent Iannelli, "How to Talk to Your Baby," About.