29 TRICKS TO HELP TODDLER TALK
Ever since your baby turns to toddlerhood, you will be hoping to hear his/her first words. It can be a bit stressful at times and you might wonder if your child is talking enough for her age. What can we do to help toddler talk? I’m going to talk about this topic today.
Firstly, let’s get an idea about understanding and language development in toddlers.
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Language Development During 1- 2 Years
At around 12 months, they will understand the names of things they see or use often. For example they will understand the word for :
- Common objects like Chair , Ball
- Body parts like Mouth , Hand
- Cloths like Pants , Jacket
At around 15 months, your child will point at things and ask you to name them.
At around 18 months, they will refer to themselves by name. A few months later, they will begin to understand and use “I” to refer to themselves.
During this year, they will understand :
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- Familiar phrases like “Please be careful!”
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- Simple instructions like “come here”
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- Very simple explanations like “We can’t eat it. It’s very hot”
At around 12 months, they will start using words to talk to you, and they enjoy telling the same word again and again. Sometimes you will hear made-up words here and there too.
By 18 months your they might know 20-100 meaningful words. They will use new words nearly everyday.
Language Development During 2-3 Years
During this time your toddler’s vocabulary expands quickly.
They will start using two-word, three-word or sometimes more complex sentences. Will start using a lot of nouns and some commonly used verbs.
May say words and sentences that strangers can mostly understand.
Start using pronouns “I, You, We. They. Me”
Your toddler will understand most of the everyday conversations spoken in simple language or at least she/he will be able to guess it right.
As you can see, this is not a simple process that happens overnight.
Your toddler may need ample opportunities, may do a lot of mistakes, give you a hard time or be frustrated because she/he cannot express herself so on and so forth.
However, there are tips to make this beautiful journey smooth and consistent to your growing toddler and yourself.
Ways to Help Toddler Talk and Better Express Themselves
- Start small – The truth is you can’t make your toddler talk overnight. You are not a magician. But you can do small changes to your routine, be consistent with it and make a big change.
- Read together – Reading books to your toddler can have so many benefits for both of you. Not only it helps your child learn talking, language, imagination, problem solving, improves attention, empathy but also it gives invaluable time for you guys to bond and spend such quality time together.
Interested to know how to raise a reader? Read 17 benefits of reading for kids
- Don’t respond to gestures as a form of language–
When she/he was still a baby those cues helped us a lot but now it’s time to encourage your toddler to use more words. Act confused even if you know what they mean eventually they will use a word or a similar sound to express themselves. Don’t worry. They are not quitters! They will find a way !
- Allow for an expectant pause– Let them feel that their input is also needed and pause to give them some time to respond.
- Get your toddler’s attention by saying their name before you talk and making eye contact. This will help them understand you are talking to them.
- Name items you see everyday. Ex: Bottle. Spoon, chair, table
- Flashcards are a fun way to learn new words. You can use them creatively in endless new ways making your own stories and games with pictures.
- Give your child choices– That’s a great way to encourage your toddler to talk ( What do you like to eat today? carrot or peas?)
- Talk about what you are doing even if you think they won’t understand much. Ex : I am going to wash my hands, Let me change your nappy now
- Imitate – It makes them feel confident that they are expressing something important. blabbering sounds are also fine.
- Expand on their responses – When they use a word you can add more words and make it more meaningful. Ex: Your child says “car” then you say ” Yes. a BIG car, Broom Broom”
- Repeat what your toddler says and correct any mistakes if any. Ex : Your child says “nana” and you say ” Yes , Banana”.
- Simplify your speech. Use short sentences and emphasise key words. Ex: This CAR is RED.
- When your toddler does communicate successfully, give her clear feedback. ” Yes, that’s right, it’s a plate”
- Focus on what your child is trying to say , rather than on how clearly she pronounces her words. She will be confident about herself.
- Speak with excitement – Overly exaggerated gestures, facial expressions really help. They love it!!
- Get silly – Don’t forget to get silly and have lots of fun together. Change your voice, change lyrics to silly words and have a good laugh. This will keep them engaged and entertained.
- Use movement– Excitement of jumping, running and dancing can make them want to scream with joy. Pick words to scream out together like ” Yayy, Hurray, Cheese”
- Encourage both independent and interactive play. Children need to learn play independently however you can create opportunities to make a conversation and bond with your child when you get down on the floor and play together.
- Expose your child to plenty of opportunities to talk during everyday activities. Take her to the park, grocery shopping or to the library and discuss/explain what you see and what you do.
- Limit screen time– Try to replace screen time with physical activities or if necessary let them watch age appropriate content with a lot of conversations in it. ( For children younger than 2 years, screen time is not recommended)
- Limit pacifier use – Try to limit pacifier only to bed time if it is necessary.
- Switch off unnecessary background noise– Because children often find it harder to filter out background noise.
- Eliminate negativity– If the child makes a mistake, just correct and tell the right word without commenting “No that’s wrong”
- Allocate at least 30 minutes a day for this purpose -You may communicate with your child the whole day, but you still need separate one on one time focusing on language development.
- Don’t constantly quiz your child– It’s exciting when they finally say some words but bugging them all the time asking questions might not help. Instead, try expanding those words to make it more interesting. Ex: If the child says “car” you can say “Yes I see a yellow car”
- Open ended toys – They help your child’s imagination and creativity in endless ways eventually encouraging them to express themselves.
What are Open ended toys? It’s described as play that has no pre-determined limitations and no fixed answer. Children can follow their imagination and be creative to make multiple and various types of outcomes from these toys. Ex: Magnetic Tiles, Animal Figurines, Peg dolls, Rainbow pebbles, Building blocks,
- Don’t think learning apps, electronic toys are going to help them talk.
- Patience, Consistency and more patience– As I told you before, your child may not grasp the art of talking and expressing in a day or two. They need your support, patience and above all love and care and they will most definitely shine bright.
Love to hear your thoughts on how these tips helped your child or please share if you used other ways that I didn’t mentioned above.
Disclaimer
This article only contains tips that you can follow at home to help your toddler talk. Every child is different so we recommend you consult a healthcare professional to get an assessment about your child’s development and then seek professional help if required.
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