5 Ways to Help Your Child's Speech Development {via "Toddler Approved/Playing with Words 365"}

Happy Tuesday!

I love this article I'm featuring today. It's written by the author (a Speech-language Pathologist) of Playing with Words 365 but featured on Toddler Approved, another fantastic website chock-full of crafts, parenting tips, child development, and more. So, basically this is a feature within a feature. Okay, now the word feature sounds weird.

Anyways, like I said, this article is wonderful.

It's entitled:

Five Tips to Help Your Toddler Learn Language and Communicate

Don't stop reading because you have a baby and not a toddler! These tips apply to babies as well. I've mentioned all of them in my Sign, Say, and Play classes since you, as a parent, would benefit by practicing these tips asap to make them habitual (not to mention, it would benefit your baby too).

Here are the 5 Tips:

1. SLOW DOWN. Slow down your pace, slow down your speech, and just live in the moment. Before I had H, every mother told me, "Savor every moment--it will go by so quickly." I didn't believe them the first 2 months of my daughter's life because, well, those months were ridiculously hard. But, now that she is almost three, I can add my voice to those moms: it does go by quickly! Along with talking slower, she also advises to use your daily routines to your advantage:

"Diaper changes, bath time, meal time...these are all so routine yet some of the best times to slow down and talk to your child. These are the moments he is learning the most."

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 2. LOOK AT YOUR CHILD (AND GET DOWN ON HIS LEVEL). This is one I often need to remind myself to do. Look at her when you talk as much as possible. And, with a toddler, squat down so he can see your face and how your mouth moves and your facial expressions. Have you ever sat down and imagined living life munchkin-sized? It would be frustrating, and intimidating, to always have a humungous person literally talking down to you. Good reminder.

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3. WAIT. Oooh, this one is so good. And so hard. The author does a great job explaining this one, but the basic premise is give your child time to respond. Don't jump the gun. Wait for a response and you might be surprised by your child's abilities. For example, you're reading a book with you 9-month-old and say, "Where is the dog?" Then wait................longer than you normally would. See what happens. The same applies with signing--give them time to register and process thoughts and turn it into action.

4. STOP COUNTING & START COMMUNICATING. This one is interesting. You know how we parents are always counting things with our kids? Stairs, cars, etc. etc. That is all well and good and don't stop! But, here is the author's advice:

"...remember to communicate about all the things you see in her environment. When she points at things, talk about them. Ask her questions and wait for her answer. Narrate her play sometimes and narrate your own movements. Talk to your child don't just count the stairs."

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5. RETHINK YOUR TOYS. I featured another article by the same author here. She recommends these toys over those flashy, noisy, {annoying}, take-up-your-whole-living-room toys. Her list of toys allow for more open-ended play, encourage imagination and discovery, all the while increasing their speech & language at the same time.

Good stuff, huh? Hope you'll find these tips useful!