Want to Raise Rational Kids? Try Teaching Your Toddler Verbs

"Go" and "want" might actually be more useful than "dog."

By Sarah White
Jun 25, 2019 11:00 AMJan 24, 2020 1:41 AM
Kid Toddler Playing - Shutterstock
(Credit: Travelerpix/Shutterstock)

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What were your first words? Odds are, if you grew up in the United States speaking English, these words were nouns. Nouns like mama, dada, a favorite animal or food (or “lawnmower,” if my father is to be believed). But in languages like Korean and Mandarin Chinese, babies’ first words are more often verbs like “go” and “want.”

New research suggests these differences in early word learning might lead toddlers down different paths toward understanding relations between objects. For example, children struggle with learning relationships like right and left. They might be able to apply it to their hands but not know their right foot from their left foot. And that’s a key part of higher-level reasoning.

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