MENLO PARK, Calif., Oct. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Education pioneer VersaMe today announced the public availability of the Starling – a revolutionary wearable that counts the number of words exchanged between parents and caregivers and young children. Research shows that the more words a baby hears, the sooner the child learns to speak, the quicker their vocabulary grows and the faster language skills develop.
"Every parent wants to give their child the best start in life and the best way to do that is to consistently engage with them through talking, reading and singing," said Nicki Boyd, Founder of VersaMe. "The Starling is the only way to help parents make sure they're consistently feeding their baby enough words."
Worn by infants and toddlers, the Starling is focused on the most formative stages of development, the first four years of life when 83% of brain growth occurs. All parents need to do is verbally engage with their babies. The Starling processes the audio signals from the verbal engagements, turning them into data that tells parents just how many words their baby is exposed to. The Starling allows parents to set daily goals, and to complete weekly challenges with fun, verbal activity prompts and helpful tips.
"Success as an adult depends on having verbal and quantitative skills," said Stanford Psychology Professor Anne Fernald. "Long before they [children] are showing signs of using language, they are figuring out a lot about it and need to hear it for this learning to emerge. Words are the best nutrition for a baby's brain."
The Starling is a small star-shaped device that attaches to a baby's onesie, a toddler's t-shirt or a diaper bag. Developed by parents for parents, ease of use and child safety led all design decisions. The Starling is made from medical-grade BPA-free plastic and the battery lasts five days between charges. According to early testers, the consistent reminder the Starling provides has created more active and engaging relationships between parents and their babies.
"The Starling is like your little conscience," said Heather Kiely, early customer and mother of two little boys. "Sometimes you forget and get caught up in things. I have to run to the grocery store, I have to pay bills, etc. The Starling reminds me to stop and make time – I feel way more present with my child."
The Starling is available for $199 now at www.versame.com.
About VersaMe
Started by parents and driven by research, VersaMe has created the Starling, the world's first education wearable for infants and toddlers. The company is focused on building tools to improve child development during their most formative first four years. Born out of Stanford University, the Starling tracks verbal engagement between parents and young children. Whether a parent, a grandparent, a caregiver or a family friend, the Starling lets everyone play a role in building the educational foundation for future generations. To learn more and to start using your words with your kids, visit http://www.versame.com/.
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SOURCE VersaMe
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