Sunday 19 February 2012

Teaching babies to talk - Vitamin D may play a role

It recently emerged that vitamin D may play an important role in child language development. Scientists in Australia conducted tests over  many years - monitoring vitamin D levels of mothers during pregnancy and their children's language levels at various ages. There were significant differences in that the children of mothers with least vitamin D had less well-developed language abilities.

The authors of the report caution that the results need to be replicated in other populations before firm conclusions can be drawn. However, their findings may indicate vitamin D testing in pregnant women and vitamin supplementation are advisable. The UK department of health  already has taken steps to ensure that mothers have access to vitamin D supplements through their Health Start scheme

So as well as using strategies to actively teach baby to talk , making sure your vitamin levels are at a good level may impact on how well your child learns to talk.