Northland kindies sound alarm as more children arrive with limited language skills

After noticing more children arriving at early childhood education with limited language and communication skills, the Northland Kindergarten Association has taken matters into its own hands.

It has launched a campaign to help parents and caregivers to boost children’s communication before they start school.

The initiative, called Talk with Children, includes a website encouraging families to engage more directly with young children through everyday conversation and interaction.

The campaign follows the association’s observation of growing numbers of children arriving at kindergarten with limited language and communication skills.

The initiative aims to help reverse what Gay Easterbrook, a speech-language therapist with the Northland Kindergarten Association, described as a worrying decline in young children’s communication skills.

“There’s a very low number of actual words that they’re using, so their vocabulary is very restricted.”

Easterbrook said the limited communication meant children were not progressing to create sentences.

“When they talk, it often tends to be single words or gestures or pointing or no reaction at all, which is very concerning.”

As a rough guide, Easterbrook said children should be using single words by age 1, combining words by 2, speaking in three-word sentences by 3, and using sentences of at least four words by 4.

“So often all we need to do with parents is say, ‘Talk with your child a bit more and let them reply,’ and we see a huge improvement.”

While hearing issues such as glue ear remain a factor for some Northland children, Easterbrook said reduced face-to-face interaction and increasing device use might also be contributing.

“Screen time itself isn’t necessarily the problem, but children need a person with them talking about what they are seeing and doing. The connection comes before communication.”

The campaign’s website offers practical advice, activities and information designed to help families better understand language development and create more opportunities for conversation at home.

“It’s not a big extra effort,” Easterbrook said. “It’s about talking about what you are doing, what the child is doing and making the most of everyday opportunities to connect.

“We can never talk too much to children, as long as you give them a turn in the conversation.”

The Ministry of Education says oral language skills form the foundation for literacy, social development and educational achievement.

Antony Harvey, the ministry’s general manager for Te Poutāhū (Curriculum Centre), said delayed language development could affect children’s behaviour, literacy and future educational outcomes.

“People with speech, language and communication needs are at greater risk of lower education levels, higher unemployment rates, psychological distress and contact with the criminal justice system.”

The ministry advised managing screen time, especially for young children. For education professionals, it highlighted recommendations from the Paediatric Society of New Zealand that screen use should be limited according to age, with children up to 6 years old having minimal screen time in sessions of no more than 10 to 15 minutes.

Harvey said the ministry had seen rising demand for learning support in recent years, driven by factors including more learners with complex learning and communication needs.

“We are taking steps to increase supports available. Budget 2025 provided a multi-year investment to support more students and meet growing demand.”

Implementation started in Term 1 this year.

“This included funding for additional learning support specialists and teacher aide hours, as well as expanding the Early Intervention Service (EIS) to support children from birth through to the end of Year 1 of school.” Previously, EIS ended when a child started school.

Yolisa Tswanya is Deputy News Director at The Northland Age. An experienced journalist and newsroom leader, she holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and reports on a broad range of issues across the Far North and Northland, with particular interest in health, education and community affairs.