Study shows kids learn better when parents use gestures

My son is destined to be a genius. Here’s my proof – the Chicago Tribune reported Friday that researchers at the University of Chicago have found that the children of parents who use gestures are far more likely to have larger vocabularies when they reach school age, which, the story says, is “an important predictor of academic success.”

I’ve had this gesture problem all my life to the point my longtime college roommate, Anne, would literally sit on my hands when I spoke to see if I could complete a sentence without flailing my arms in the air. It was a distracter to my friends, but this habit of mine just may have been beneficial for my child in his early years.

The idea behind the Chicago study is that parents who use gestures when communicating with their young children are actually teaching their children to understand the concept of communication even before their children’s little mouth muscles can form words. Understanding gestures at an early age also helps one to comprehend social cues.

So to all you hand-waving parents out there – keep up the good work!