Development in children younger than 2 years (Zimmerman et al., 2007) Almost every theory of language development recognizes that there is a critical period for learning language language. During this critical period a child must receive environmental input for normal development. Parents and guardians are an extremely important part of this environmental input, and the best way to teach your children language is to simply talk to them, a lot. We know that children often say their first words between 11 and 14 months and there continues to be a lot of variability in language development; Is this the result of nature or nurture? Zimmerman, Christakis, and Meltzoff (2007) studied the effects of media viewing on language development in children under 2 years of age to see whether this, as part of education, has a negative consequence on language. A random sample of 1008 parents and their children were included in this study on the effect of media exposure on the language development of infants and toddlers. Media types were classified into 4 groups: children's educational, children's non-educational, children's DVD/video, and adult TV. The study controlled for race/ethnicity, time spent in day care, family income, parents' education, and, most importantly, parents' interaction with their children in the areas of reading, storytelling, and music. This study measured the language development of infants and toddlers using the short-form Communicative Development Inventory (CDI) method. The CDI is a reliable and valid tool for measuring language and communication development. The study found that reading and telling stories at least once a day was correlated with an increase in CDI scores for both children aged 8 to 16 months and those aged 17 to 24 months... in the middle of the sheet... ...check. All the suggestions of areas where parental interaction may have an uncontrolled effect in this study suggest that parental interaction is absolutely crucial for language development. This study shows a significant negative correlation in the language development of children who watch an hour or more of children's DVDs/videos per day. Although this is a correlational study, the findings suggest that caregivers should think twice before putting their child in front of a DVD to help them learn the language, and should instead spend that time simply talking to the child . Works Cited Hoff, Erika. (2009). Language development (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.Zimmerman, F. J., Christakis, D. A., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2007). Associations between media viewing and language development in children younger than 2 years. Journal of Pediatrics,151, 364-368.