Helping your child with their speech and language doesn’t need to be complicated. In fact, there are lots of simple tips you can incorporate into your daily interactions with your child that will help them practice their communication skills – without them even noticing.
Here are some things you can try:
Expand on what they say
When your child says something, expand on what they say and model more complex language – show them what more they could say. For example, if they say, “The dog” you can say, “The big dog,” or “The black dog,” or “The dog is running”.
This helps build their vocabulary and sentence structure.
Use everyday activities to encourage talking
Turn mealtimes and playtimes into opportunities for conversation. For example, during snack time, talk about the textures and colours of food – encourage your child to describe what they see, taste, like and feel.
Get down to their level
When talking with your child, get down to their eye level. This helps with focus and encourages engagement. Sit down or kneel beside them – this makes the interaction more personal and accessible to them, having you right next to them.
Make time for listening
Encourage your child to listen carefully, by pausing and waiting for them to respond. Use pauses in conversations to give your child time to process what you’ve said and come up with their response. Don’t rush – it takes them a bit longer to process communication than adults.
Use visual aids
Pictures, gestures and signs can massively support language development. Try using images such as picture cards or illustrations in books to match with words, helping your child associate images with language.
Read together every day
Make it a daily habit – and it doesn’t have to take up lots of time. Ask questions about the story, characters or picture to help your child think and respond. Ask ‘What do you think happens next?’ or ‘Can you find the red car in this picture?’ Their imaginations are wonderful when they are young, so they might come up with some interesting ideas!
Model play-based language
Use pretend play to model different scenarios or vocabulary. Use dolls or action figures and model conversations or problem-solving through play to enrich their language. Show what each side of the conversation might be and use different vocabulary to broaden theirs.
Sing songs together?
Songs with repetition, rhythm and rhyme help children to develop language and speech patterns – has The Wheels On The Bus ever got stuck in your head?! Sing nursery rhymes or simple songs and allow your child to fill in familiar words and do the actions. Make it fun,and enjoy it – permission to be silly!
Give your child choices
This helps promote communication. For example, offer two items and ask “Would you likethe red ball or the blue ball?” This encourages decision-making and verbal responses. It’s often quicker and easier to just do it for them but try to talk about things and give them choice.
Be patient and positive
Respond positively to all attempts at communication and be patient. If they make mistakes, repeat it back the right way but remember to focus on what they’re trying to tell you.
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