The Importance of Parental Interaction in Children's Language Acquisition in the Digitalisation Era
A child’s first language is acquired within the family environment, commonly known as the mother tongue. Language acquisition in early childhood is a vital area of study, as language is not merely a communication tool but also the foundation for social, emotional, and academic development. A child’s language development is characterised as a continuous process, evolving from basic one-word utterances to increasingly complex word combinations, according to Tarigan (2021:4) in AP Ramona (2025). This acquisition does not happen automatically but is influenced by various factors, including the family environment, parenting styles, social interaction, and the development of digital technology.
Parenting style is crucial in the development of a child’s language acquisition. Interaction between parents and children helps stimulate the child in learning language. Parenting methods influence the creation of a conducive environment for language acquisition; a democratic parenting style, which provides space and time for the child to express themselves, is more effective in fostering language development compared to an authoritarian style, which typically restricts communication and can hinder language growth (Yasmin, 2023). When parents give children the opportunity to voice their opinions, tell stories, or ask questions, it simultaneously sharpens their thinking skills and language development.
Children are highly active in absorbing what is spoken by those around them, allowing them to grasp the meaning of the vocabulary they hear and understand. First language acquisition is a process where a child naturally gains the ability to use their mother tongue; the use of language during communication with the child enables them to acquire new vocabulary and comprehend its meaning. The process of a child’s language acquisition takes place in three stages: (1) the imitation stage, (2) the stage of understanding meaning, and (3) the stage of using words in communication (Sri Hastuti, 1996) in SW Putri (2020).
Children possess a strong memory of their experiences and will imitate their parents’ behaviour. Therefore, the first language a child acquires is their mother tongue. Children acquire other languages, or second languages, from parties other than their parents, usually from their surrounding environment or formal and non-formal education (Panjaitan et al., 2023). Along with digital development, the use of social media such as YouTube has become commonplace among adults and children alike. Many parents hold the perspective that social media is a tool that helps accelerate a child’s learning in acquiring language and speaking. This is not entirely wrong, but consistent parental supervision is needed to limit and avoid excessive addiction, which can cause speech development to be hampered. Content from social media is one-way (monologue), meaning that when a child hears words from the screen, they only receive auditory and visual stimuli without being required to provide a response or take turns speaking in communication. This situation can worsen if both parent and child are distracted by digital screens, causing language to not be acquired properly and optimally if the child is in the position of a passive viewer. Without two-way communication within the family environment, children can lose crucial stimuli, making them vulnerable to speech delays (T Aurelia et al., 2022).
Technology plays a dual role. On one hand, it can enhance the learning process by allowing children easy access to a variety of educational information and materials. Various learning tools can also help them develop knowledge and skills. However, without parental supervision and guidance during technology use, certain risks can emerge. For example, children may be exposed to inappropriate content. They could also become addicted to devices and interact less with others. Furthermore, improper use of technology can negatively impact a child’s physical, mental, and emotional health, posing a fatal risk if used without parental oversight (Sigalingging et al., 2025).
This demonstrates that technology cannot replace the function of human interaction. Although digital media provides educational learning that helps introduce new vocabulary, language acquisition requires feedback, intonation, facial expressions, and emotional feeling, which cannot be fully learned through digital media. Children learn not only vocabulary but also how to understand context through interaction. Therefore, the use of technology should be a complement and supporting medium in the process of a child’s language acquisition, not the primary medium that replaces the human role.
Joint attention between humans occurs when parent and child focus their attention on the same object or event, driven by social cues such as eye movements or pointing gestures (KDP Candra et al., 2023). For instance, when a parent and child observe an object and the parent explains or narrates it with a distinctive intonation, a process of mapping or capturing the object occurs in the child’s brain. Parental involvement in daily conversations significantly influences a child’s vocabulary development. When parents frequently talk with their children, the children develop the ability to understand and use a wider range of vocabulary. This highlights the crucial role of parents in helping children develop.