Parents happy to get on board with reading scheme

A new education project is encouraging parents in Cork to read to their babies from birth to help develop their language skills.

And those behind the ‘Happy Talk’ scheme are using local buses to help promote the initiative.

The scheme to promote language development from an early age is running in two areas of Cork’s northside. The project, which is working with communities in the Glen and Mayfield by linking with public health nurse clinics, toddler groups, crèches, and pre-schools, is targeting parents of babies as young as five weeks.

It provides them with ideas on how to help develop their child’s language skills, and uses rabbit puppets Nibbles and Twitch to develop the listening skills.

In the pre-schools and junior infant classes, parents work alongside their child and are coached by one of the Happy Talk speech and language therapists. They learn to model words and sentences for their child, and to add new words to what their child has said to help expand their language. They also learn the importance of nursery rhymes.

But the initiative supports children right up to the age of six when they are in junior infant classes, and constantly promotes the importance of reading books.

Roz O’Mahony, whose daughter Ava, 4, attends St Brendan’s pre-school in the Glen, said the scheme has resulted in a marked improvement in her child’s language development.

“I was reading to her from an early age anyway but Happy Talk teaches parents a few simple techniques that really result in huge improvements in children’s vocabulary,” she said.

The project, overseen by the Cork City Partnership, is co-ordinated by Sheila Dillon, who said they chose local kids and parents to ‘star’ on a series of promotional posters now appearing on buses travelling through the northside.

One of the posters, which bears the message ‘It’s never too early to start with books’, features 5-week-old Glen looking at a book with his big sister Amanda. Each poster gives parents tips on how they can support their child’s language development.

“Through early intervention in language, the project aims to support better school readiness and promote better future educational outcomes for participating children,” Ms Dillon said.

Happy Talk is led by a consortium involving Cork City Partnership, Barnardos, Cork City Childcare Company, Cork City Council, City of Cork VEC, the HSE South, and University College Cork.

The project is funded by Tomar Trust and the National Early Years Access Initiative and is one of just 11 demonstration projects around the country which will feed into national policy on early childhood care and education.

Picture: Ava O’Mahony, 4, from the Glen, Cork, is one of the children taking part in the ‘Happy Talk’ scheme. Her mum Roz said the scheme has resulted in a marked improvement in Ava’s language development. Picture: Dan Linehan