LittlEARS Item 9

9. Does your child respond with alarm when hearing an angry voice?

Children learn to connect sound to meaning with experience. This is also true with emotions. As your child learns to connect that sounds can be fun and happy, they can also learn that some sounds are "alerts". 


Example Situation

While playing with a sibling your child removes a toy from their sibling's hands.  The sibling protests by saying "mine", vocalizes in frustration, and/or becomes angry/upset.  Your child's behavior changes: gives back the toy, becomes upset and/or cries.

How to address this skill:

Show your child different sounds and the emotions you might have when you hear them. If you hear an ambulance, point to your ear and say "I hear that, that's loud" or if you can say "That sound is scary! I don't like that sound!" By sharing your feelings about sounds, you help to connect language and meaning to what your child hears.