The cocktail party effect – how your toddler begins to pick out sounds in busy places

Talking about ‘the cocktail-party effect’ when we are describing your toddler might seem strange (and it in some ways it is!). This effect, also known as speech-in-noise discrimination, describes our ability to listen to one person when there are lots of other conversations and noise happening.^[1] This is something that takes a long time to develop – and might explain why sometimes it feels like your toddler isn’t listening!  

Listening to one voice when there is lots of noise around is not easy, and children find this more difficult than adults.^[2]  

It will take time for your toddler to focus on someone talking when there is other background noise, so sometimes when you think they aren’t listening they might simply not be tuning into to your voice among others.  

Scientists suggest it is more difficult to pick out one voice among other voices, than someone talking with different sounds in the background.^[3]  

It might be useful to think about not only noise levels but the type of noise around your toddler if you’re wondering if they haven’t processed what you said.  

Things to think about that might help your toddler 

If you are somewhere busy, give them time to respond to you. 

When you can, reduce background noise when you’re chatting and playing with your toddler, as this will help them listen to, and think about, what you say.  

When you are somewhere busy or with other people talking, get your toddler’s attention before you speak.  

Hearing lots of different voices seems to help children develop the ability to pay attention to what one person is saying when other people are speaking too.^[3]  

Think about giving your toddler lots of experience chatting with, and listening to, people – and be patient if they seem not to hear you at first.  

If you have concerns about your toddler’s hearing, have a chat with your doctor or health visitor to get advice.  

References: 

[1] Lutfi, R.A., Rodriguez, B., Lee, J., & Pastore, T. (2020). A test of model classes accounting for individual differences in the cocktail-party effect. The journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 148(6). 

[2] Vander Ghinst, M., Bourguignon, M., Niesen, M., Wens, V., Hassid, S., Choufani, G., Jousmaki, V., Hari, R., Goldman, S., & De Tiege, X. (2019). Cortical tracking of speech-in-noise develops from childhood to adulthood. Journal of Neuroscience, 39(15), 2938-2950.  

[3] Leibold, L.J. (2019). Too young for the Cocktail Party? Acoustical Society of America, 15(1), 37-43.