How can I get my child to talk? Should I talk to them more? Is it ok for my child to use a dummy? I show
my child lots of flashcards, why aren’t they talking yet?
These are the questions we so often hear from parents with little ones in the early stages of language
development. Lots of comparisons and misinformation can cause unnecessary stress for parents and
so our first blog series is here to give you some helpful information on supporting your child’s early
language development.
Laying the Foundations for Language.
Did you know that before your child starts to use words, they need to have some foundational skills for words to build upon. These include:
- Meaningful eye contact.
- Two-way interactions.
- Communication with gestures such us pointing and waving.
- A basic understanding of words related to common people and objects.
- Adequate hearing.
It will be important to establish these skills before your child starts learning words.
You can support the development of these skills at home by:
Interaction
- Using ‘people games’ to establish simple back and forth interactions interaction e.g. peek-a- boo and round and round the garden.
- Imitate what your child is doing and seeing how they respond. Often the child will begin to interact when they notice you’re interested in what they’re doing.
- Create communication opportunities. You could do this by putting something they like in a container with the lid on tightly or holding things back to help them initiate an interaction to request.
Understanding
- Help your child understand what words mean by showing them when you say the word (point to an object when you name it or talk about an action while you are doing it).
- Say less words and slow down your talking. This makes it easier for them to hear and learn the key words in what you are saying.
- Using visual helpers such as Key Word Signs can be helpful in supporting understanding and providing another means of communication before the use of word. To find out more come along to one of our key word sign workshop.
Hearing
- If you have concerns about your child’s language development, always make sure they have had their hearing checked! You need to be able to hear speech and language to learn it.
So now we’ve got the foundational skills covered so how do we start encouraging the use of words?
Stay tuned to find out!