Using Play Time to Encourage Your Child's Language Development
One of the main things I love in a child is watching the way they communicate. From birth, they know just how to get us where they want us. My son has three main noises: the ‘grunt and wriggle' which indicates hunger; the ‘pained' noise which is usually indicative of wind after his feed, and the ‘persistent wah-wah' which is normally a comfort issue such as tiredness, a dirty nappy, or a wet outfit where he has posseted. For a two-month-old, that's pretty good going.
Not long after follows the ‘grunt and point' technique. It is very successful, but it's something we must push past and eventually ignore, or it is possible they will be late talkers. Why talk, when you can grunt and point and get everything you want?
Encouraging speech and language is one of the easiest things we can do at playtime to help our child not only learn to talk, but to communicate with us better. You don't even need toys sometimes; just simply walking around the garden and pointing out a ‘bee' or a ‘flower' or a ‘shed' is teaching your child some of the valuable words they need as they grow. Keep talking to your child about what you are doing, what they are doing, or what you both can see.
Invest in some children's educational toys for your playtime. Something with the alphabet, or words on that you can read out will help your children when they are at the stage where they can copy or repeat you. An excellent example might be something with a word where you have to match it to the picture. When they can't read, you can read it to them so they can match them until they are able to read it for themselves. Make a point of, again, talking the whole time about what is going on. Farmyard animals are always a hit too. If your child is just mastering the fact they can make sounds, encourage them to make the animal noises first, then later use this to teach them the animal, saying something like "Which animal goes MOOO?"
When your child has learned to point, pick up the item, and say what it is, such as ‘this is a biscuit'. If you find yourself struggling to get past the point-and-grunt stage, but you know your child is capable of using their words, simply tell them you want to hear the word or they can't have it. Saying ‘Juice please' is so much better than just waving at the sippy cup screaming.
Communication and conversation is the key to unlocking your child's little language, and by combining time together with a mix of toys and chat, your child will be yapping away in no time.
Not long after follows the ‘grunt and point' technique. It is very successful, but it's something we must push past and eventually ignore, or it is possible they will be late talkers. Why talk, when you can grunt and point and get everything you want?
Encouraging speech and language is one of the easiest things we can do at playtime to help our child not only learn to talk, but to communicate with us better. You don't even need toys sometimes; just simply walking around the garden and pointing out a ‘bee' or a ‘flower' or a ‘shed' is teaching your child some of the valuable words they need as they grow. Keep talking to your child about what you are doing, what they are doing, or what you both can see.
Invest in some children's educational toys for your playtime. Something with the alphabet, or words on that you can read out will help your children when they are at the stage where they can copy or repeat you. An excellent example might be something with a word where you have to match it to the picture. When they can't read, you can read it to them so they can match them until they are able to read it for themselves. Make a point of, again, talking the whole time about what is going on. Farmyard animals are always a hit too. If your child is just mastering the fact they can make sounds, encourage them to make the animal noises first, then later use this to teach them the animal, saying something like "Which animal goes MOOO?"
When your child has learned to point, pick up the item, and say what it is, such as ‘this is a biscuit'. If you find yourself struggling to get past the point-and-grunt stage, but you know your child is capable of using their words, simply tell them you want to hear the word or they can't have it. Saying ‘Juice please' is so much better than just waving at the sippy cup screaming.
Communication and conversation is the key to unlocking your child's little language, and by combining time together with a mix of toys and chat, your child will be yapping away in no time.
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