The latest video of Mahendra Singh Dhoni talking to his daughter Ziva in 6 different Indian languages, is perhaps the cutest thing going viral on the internet today.

The 4-year-old is a polyglot of sorts even as she effortlessly responds to her father’s question ‘How are you?’ in six languages – Tamil, Bengali, Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Punjabi and Urdu.

Ziva answers in all languages without battling her eyelid and Dhoni is, of course, a proud father.

And have you ever wondered how today’s younger generation can pick up so many languages be it at home or at school, even before turning 5?

Well, researchers and doctors claim that children below the age of 5 can grasp multiple languages, thanks to today’s multilingual society.

Studies reveal that babies have the uncanny ability to understand mother tongue from a very early stage and can easily follow the language spoken by parents, grandparents and others at home. A bilingual nanny or a nursery curriculum, rhymes in various languages, cartoon characters also help a child in getting introduced to various languages. Speaking various languages from a young age has enormous benefits in developing the cognitive abilities of a child. 

Benefits of Being a Polyglot:

Positive Effect On Brain:

Being multilingual shows positive changes in the development of brain, increases attention span and kids tend to learn multi-tasking from a very young age. Switching over from one language to another without much effort makes them very less distracted.

Prevents Neurological Issues:

Researches reveal that people with multi language speaking skills are less prone to various neurological issues like dementia, Alzheimer’s at a later stage in life. Other proven benefits include faster recovery from stroke, lower levels of stress and anxiety.

Grow Open-Minded:

It is famously told that, to know another language is like possessing a second soul. This means the child grows unaffected by the minor changes around, grow openminded, willing to learn more and accept the circumstances and embrace new experiences. This will in turn improve the confidence levels in a child.

Academically Ahead:

Kids who have mastered two or more languages always stand advantage while getting admission in schools and other educational institutes at a later stage in life. Multilingual children also outperform monolingual kids at an academic level and learn various topics without putting in much effort.