Language Affects Kids’ Interest in Science

As children get older, their understanding of science and of being a scientist changes. The words adults use are a critical part of keeping them engaged in discovery

- RYAN F. LEI

ONE OF THE BEST PARTS of being a parent has to be watching children discover the world around them. After all, kids are endlessly curious, and part of the fun is seeing the wonder on their faces as they learn about even simple objects and ideas. “What’s that in your hand? Is it—a ball? Do you think it will roll down this hill?” you might ask your toddler. Then you get to enjoy their shouts of delight as they explore just that. This is science in action—making an observation, testing an idea, seeing what happens and then asking the next question.

Yet over time parents may find that their child is becoming less interested in exploring the world around them and less likely to investigate the underlying “why” of things—that is, less curious about science. Why does this shift happen?

There are, of course, a number of different factors at play, but in the research my colleagues and I have done, we have found something that might surprise some folks: this loss of interest may be partly the result of subtle language cues children hear. And these cues don’t come just from parents; they can also come from media kids consume or from schoolteachers or curricula that treat science as an identity rather than a process.

All youngsters can do science, but over time they begin to think of being a scientist as something reserved for only certain kinds of kids. Based on what my colleagues and I have learned, however, there are some steps you can take to keep the curiosity alive and the science flowing.