How would you feel if you received a text to tell you talk to your child? Patronised, insulted or helped and supported?
This is one of the few recommendations by Jean Gross, who was appointed the first communication ‘champion’ by Labour. Apparently, 1 in 5 parents do not see the worth in talking to babies under 3 months old and it is estimated that around 100,000 five-year-olds have speech development behind their expected level.
Mrs Gross, in her final report, says the Department for Education should provide parents with ‘accessible information on how to enjoy and support their child’s communication and language development from birth’.
Her research infers that mothers do not have time to surf the net for information. Is she joking? Who did she ask? How does she think Netmums and all the other parenting sites have got so big?
She recommends the launch of a national text service which would encourage parents to sign up and receive ‘bite-sized’ snippets of information about the need to encourage speech. Is she for real? How does she plan on engaging those who do not speak to their children to sign up for this service let alone take notice?
It seems that this another one of those middle class ideas that hasn’t delved into the social and cultural circumstances of the families in question.
Bunty
The Chatterjis Blog 