Individualisation in society both directly and indirectly influences key developmental processes in children, including their speech and language development. The environments in which children grow up, such as kindergarten and family settings, are affected by changes resulting from new lifestyles. Individualisation emphasises the individual and focuses on their unique potential, which affects time management and flexibility within the community. A different way of living in society, combined with digitalisation that reduces direct communication time between children and adults, impacts how and to what extent children acquire language, as interaction with others plays a crucial role in fostering children’s speech and language development. Understanding the role of individualisation in society is essential for shaping approaches that support children’s speech and language development in contemporary contexts. Through structured interviews with preschool teachers and parents, this study aims to analyse the influence of social individualisation on children’s speech and language development. The results showed that, according to the interviewed preschool teachers, children often experience difficulties in forming sentences, have a limited vocabulary, and develop speech more slowly. The teachers emphasized several aspects of societal individualization that affect children’s speech and language development, particularly the decrease in social interaction, the fast pace of life, the excessive use of digital devices, and the decline in the quality of family communication. They pointed out that children are increasingly becoming passive listeners who lack opportunities for dialogue, while the interviewed parents are aware of the importance of conversation but mention the lack of time and the presence of screens as an inevitable part of modern life. The findings confirm that both the family and preschool environments play an important role in compensating for the effects of societal individualization, especially by providing a stimulating communicative environment and serving as a positive example for the child.
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