The first five years of life are a critical time for a child's development. Positive experiences and relationships that stimulate children's development create millions of connections in their brains. Did you know that research has shown that children's brains develop connections faster in the first five years than at any other time in their lives? These first five years set the foundations for health, communication, learning and behaviour. Follow these top six tips for talking to support your little one's development!
1. Target Meaningful Words During Everyday Routines
During your daily routine, you will be able to work out the words you use often and find ways to teach your child a little bit more each day. For example, I often say to parents that bath time is a great way to work on verbs or even opposites (e.g. "You are splashing!" or "Uh-oh, it's all wet, all dry").
Children who are late to talk often have lots of naming words but are missing the important building blocks for sentences, which include action verbs, pronouns and describing words. Try to stay away from counting, shapes and letters at a young age, as these are not very meaningful. Time is better spent creating language-rich experiences with verbs!
2. Be a Commentator, Not a Tester
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in trying to 'test' our little ones that we forget to just 'comment', which exposes your child to great language! We want to create opportunities for children to communicate rather than testing them on what they may or may not know.
Caregivers often try to teach language by asking questions such as "Say X" or "What's this?". If the child doesn't have the word yet, this becomes a missed opportunity. So, to support language, try to turn 'testing' questions into 'comments'. For example, instead of "What's that?" try "Oh, you have a ball! Let's bounce the ball!"
3. Be Face to Face and Follow Your Child's Lead
Get down to your child's level so you are face to face and at eye level. This helps your child focus on what you are saying.
4. Observe, Wait, Listen
This is by far my favourite strategy from Hanen. Watch what your child is interested in, wait to give them time to communicate, and listen to what they are telling you. Ask our team if you'd like more information about this strategy.
5. Imitation
Imitation involves a child's ability to copy not only words, but also actions with objects (e.g. pushing a car), gestures and body movements (e.g. clapping hands), and sounds. Typically, children learn to imitate in infancy. Imitation provides a back-and-forth interaction and acts as an early conversation without words. You can practise imitation in your everyday routines (e.g. singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Old MacDonald Had a Farm).
6. Forced Choice
To support your child to make choices, instead of asking big open-ended questions like "What food do you want?", ask "Would you like an apple or a banana?". This gives your child the key words they need to make a decision.
