Indeed, an everyday interaction with our children has the power to significantly advance their brain development:

Engaging in Conversation with Your Child.

This simple act, often overlooked, has been shown by research at Harvard University to have a direct impact on the brain development of children under the age of 10.

Back in 1995, human development researchers Betty Hart and Todd Risley embarked on a groundbreaking study. They followed 42 Kansas City families for a duration of two and a half years, beginning when the children were just nine months old. Their conversations were meticulously recorded and analyzed. Astonishingly, their findings revealed that by the age of four, children from affluent families were exposed to 30 million more words than their less privileged peers. Tracking the children up to their school years, the findings were clear: children from wealthier backgrounds demonstrated superior learning abilities.

These revelations led to the theory that the staggering ’30 million word gap’ is at the crux of intellectual development disparities among children, impacting their future lives.

Fast forward to 2005, and a team of brain neuroscientists at MIT, led by John Gabrieli, published their findings in Psychological Science. Their study analyzed brain scans of 58 pre-teens from various socioeconomic backgrounds. The results were telling: children from affluent families showed thicker temporal and occipital cortexes, regions dedicated to visual perception and information storage. Correspondingly, their performance on cognitive tests was more impressive. This further cemented the profound implications of the ’30 million word gap’ on intellectual growth.
Many parents, upon reading this, might rush to read more picture books, encourage their kids to devour literature, and let them watch vocabulary-rich cartoons—all in the hopes of nurturing their children’s brain development.

However, subsequent research at MIT, also published in Psychological Science, points to an undeniable truth:

What truly influences a child’s neural growth, irrespective of wealth, is the simple act of mutual, responsive conversation.

In this study, children aged four to six, hailing from diverse backgrounds, wore recording devices for two days to capture familial interactions. The researchers analyzed the spoken word count, auditory word encounters, and parental discussions. Brain scans were conducted thereafter. The findings unequivocally showed that active engagement between child and parent, as evidenced by use and response in Broca’s area—a key region for speech production and comprehension—had significant neural implications. Furthermore, children from less affluent families who engaged more with their parents could level the playing field with their wealthier counterparts.

Thus, a family’s socioeconomic status alone does not dictate a child’s intellectual capacity—robust parent-child communication can mitigate the negative ramifications of socioeconomic adversity.

As Rachel Romeo, a cognitive neuroscientist at Harvard part of this revealing study, explains:

The ’30 million word gap’ is well-known among parents, prompting them to expose their children to educational media. Yet, many do not realize that direct conversation with their children is far more catalytic to brain development.

How, then, can we communicate with our children to maximize the benefits? The Harvard University Center for Child Development suggests the ‘Serve and Return’ approach—a volley of interactions that resemble a game of catch.

Outlined at the article’s end are the 5 steps of engaging in this method:

1. Share the Child’s Focus: When a child shows interest in something, join them and discuss it—like when a child notices a snail crawling.
2. Encourage Exploration: Engage in dialogue and actions that sustain the child’s interest.
3. Narrate the Play: While with the child, articulate your actions and the items involved.
4. Share the Turn: Be patient during the child’s playtime, then engage with them, enhancing their social skills.
5. Follow the Child’s Lead: Allow the child to signal an activity’s end and initiate the next one.

Conversing and dialoguing with our children may appear similar, yet engagement in dialogue involves more physical interaction and social expression.

As parents, we have a window of opportunity before our children turn 10 to activate their brain development. By talking with them—increasing family dialogues—we not only stimulate their neural development but also promote their cognitive and emotional growth.