Supermarket Speak Increasing Talk Among Low Socioeconomic Status Families

OpenAlex · English

ABSTRACT Children from low‐socioeconomic status (SES) families often fall behind their middle‐class peers in early language development. But interventions designed to support their language skills are often costly and labor‐intensive. This study implements an inexpensive and subtle language intervention aimed at sparking parent–child interaction in a place that families naturally visit: the supermarket. We placed signs encouraging adult–child dialogue in supermarkets serving low‐ and mid‐SES neighborhoods. Using an unobtrusive observational methodology, we tested how these signs affected adult–child interactions. When signs were present in supermarkets serving low‐SES neighborhoods, both the amount and the quality of talk between adults and children increased significantly, compared to when the signs were not present; signs had little effect in middle‐SES supermarkets. This study demonstrates that implementing simple, cost‐effective interventions in everyday environments may bolster children's language development and school readiness skills.