Silence is Not Golden: Early Language Matters

By Ruby Marti

Early language is a huge building block for future success. Communication with your child as soon as birth is a major factor in this. In fact, up to 98% of the words that a child uses until the age of three are derived from their parents’ vocabulary. Simply reading books, singing songs, narrating daily routines, and talking to children can make a world of difference. For these reasons, I established my community service initiative, Silence Is NOT Golden: Early Language Matters.

I’ve developed such a passion for helping children through my mom, as she is a speech and language pathologist. I’ve been blessed to grow up around a lot of language, thus helping me to be successful in and out of the classroom. Unfortunately, studies have shown that socioeconomic class has played a huge role in the number of words heard across households. Through one study called the Thirty Million Word Gap, researchers found that children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were exposed to thirty million fewer words than children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds by the time they turned three. It turned out this had huge implications for the future success of these little ones, with a follow-up study revealing that measures of accomplishment at age three were highly indicative of performance at the age of nine or ten on measures of vocabulary, overall language, and reading comprehension. The good news? Talking is free. By educating communities and bringing awareness to this topic, every child can be given the best foundation to succeed. A 2022 study found that conversational turns in early childhood are among the most

predictive metrics of child outcomes, including brain structure and function, reading skills, IQ scores, social-emotional development, and overall language and reasoning abilities. This subject is now more important than ever, with the rise in screen time and reductions in face-to-face interactions, along with Wisconsin’s push to increase young children’s literacy skills with the passage of ACT 20. I’ve seen the impact that communication and social interaction have on children, including myself, which has inspired me to want to help others to have an equal opportunity to attain the strong vocabulary and social skills that our world so desperately needs. 

Through the Miss America Organization, I’ve been able to use my initiative in ways I could not have imagined possible. Here are some ways you can also help make a positive impact:

• Support local libraries and their programs
• Donate to book and toy drives
• Inform friends and family about free library card applications
• Read to students in classrooms
• Join a Talk, Sing, Read, Play group
• Join a LENA program
• Attend the United Way Great Book Giveaway events
• Singing songs/nursery rhymes
• Narrating your daily routines

To help bring awareness to my initiative, I have created an Instagram page called @early_language_matters that is solely dedicated to my CSI, in hopes of showing people the true, positive impact that early communication and interaction can have on a child’s future.

All of these activities create a positive and engaging environment for children to learn and grow their language skills. Additionally, children are the leaders of our tomorrow. They are the people who will fill jobs, start new careers, and hopefully better our community. As Herbert Hoover once said, “Children are our most valuable natural resource.” Suppose these kids aren’t provided with the early learning resources they need. In that case, they will likely lack the necessary literacy and communication skills that will help equip them for their careers, ultimately impacting everyone. 

The Miss America Organization has opened up opportunities to me that I will never take for granted. With three years now in MAO, I have been able to see the true need for my initiative in society. I want to remind people across my city, state, and country that talking is free and so crucial to a young one’s future, and that there are always resources available to you. I think the biggest issue we face is simply awareness. Just because a young child might not be physically able to respond to what you’re saying to them doesn’t mean that they aren’t processing the language they are hearing. Every child deserves the opportunity to grow up around rich language, and through my community service initiative, Silence Is NOT Golden: Early Language Matters, I plan to continue encouraging families to set their children up for success.

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Ruby Marti is the current Miss River Cities' Teen (WI). You can find her on her title's Instagram.

This is her first blog for Section 36 Forevers.