Strong communication skills are one the best gifts you can give to your child. But, to achieve that, you will have to work on their language skills from a young age. Sure, your kid will start to learn about language in school, but it doesn’t mean you can’t do anything to speed up the process, and boost language development in your toddler.
In fact, choosing the right preschool is also very crucial when achieving the communication milestones at the right time for a child. In addition, there are also several strategies that parents or caregivers can use to further boost language development in toddlers.
So, today we will look at 6 ways through which you can boost language development in toddlers. As they grow up, these strong communication skills will help them immensely throughout their lives!
6 Ways to Boost Language Development in your Toddler
Are you ready to boost the language development of your child? Then follow the tips mentioned below:
1. Narrate What You Are Doing
The first way to improve language development in your toddler is to narrate your daily life to them. It can be as simple as talking about whatever you are doing throughout the day.
If you are doing laundry, then you can say, “I am washing the clothes. This will make them clean and spotless.” If you are cooking food, say, “I am making a delicious snack for you”, “I am chopping vegetables”, and so on.
Another way is to narrate what your toddler is doing. If they are playing with playdough, you can say something along the lines of “Wow! You have made a great shape with it.” Similarly, if they have made something with building blocks, narrate what they have built.
Over time, this will help them to start making phrases and even sentences from mere words! And the best part is that it will also help them to feel a part of what you are doing.
2. Read To Your Child
Reading and language development go hand in hand with each other. So another way to develop strong language skills in your toddler is to read to them on a daily basis.
You can start by reading them some interesting children’s books that can spark their imagination. Over time, they will start to recognize words and even add new words to their vocabulary.
However, the key thing to note here is to include enough variety in the books you read to them. Reading the same story every night will definitely set a pattern of understanding and cause- effect language relationship, but it is also imperative to add enough value to their vocabulary by having a wide spectrum of books for your son or daughter.
Similarly, the books you read to them should be interesting enough to catch their attention! Otherwise, they wouldn’t be as interested in learning as you would want them to be!
3. Use Gestures
Language isn’t limited to the words that are written and spoken. In fact, gestures are also considered to be a fundamental part of the language.
So another way to boost the language skills of your little one is to combine gestures with words. For toddlers who have yet to speak, it can be really helpful to learn about gestures.
In fact, it’s usually easy for toddlers to imitate the gestures you are showing to them. And over time, they will learn to associate the gestures with different situations!
This will allow the little ones to communicate with you in gestures (non-verbal form) and will also help them to move towards speaking words and phrases. Learn more.
4. Provide Opportunities to Communicate
Parents can tell what their children want without them having to even make a sound. Does that sound familiar? It is due to the fact that we love them so much & thus are able to actively predict their needs.
It can be a great perk, but it also gives them less reason to communicate with you! So the next time your child is hungry and needs to eat crackers, don’t just rush off and provide those crackers right away. Wait for them to communicate their needs through verbal and non-verbal cues, so that they understand they need to push a little harder to get what they want.
The gestures, sounds, or words made by the child also count as communication and will help them to build strong language skills over time.
And, once you provide them with whatever they want after communication, say the words out loud while doing so. For example, if your toddler wants to eat strawberries and has made some noises or gestures, provide them with the fruit and say the name “Strawberries” out loud.
This will help them to associate words with objects and situations. And before you know it, they will start saying full words!
5. Don’t Underestimate the Power of Repetition
When it comes to learning words and then remembering them, there’s nothing better than repetition! If a child hears a word only a few times, there’s a good chance they won’t remember it. In fact, even adults can find it difficult to learn a new word if they have only heard it once or twice!
So another strategy that can boost the language development of your toddler is to use the power of repetition. When a child hears the same word again and again, they will start to remember how the word sounds. And before you know it, they will have a new word in their vocabulary.
In the start, it is usually best to stick with simple words that are easy to remember and pronounce. For example, say out loud the food your child is eating multiple times. Similarly, say the name of their favorite toy multiple times when they are playing with it, and so on!
6. Make Silly Sounds
Sometimes, we can get carried away with trying to teach new words to our children. In addition, through that process, we totally forget that sounds are also important. In fact, it is far easier for the child to imitate the sounds than words, especially if the sounds are silly!
For children who have already learned some gestures, the addition of sounds can be a great start. You can get started by making animal sounds, silly sounds, or even environmental sounds throughout the day.
Sparkles! Early Learning Academy Will Boost Language Development In Your Toddler
Sparkles Early Learning Academy takes pride in our extraordinary curriculum through play-based learning that prepares all of our students for Kindergarten and life. One of the key approaches we do is focusing on the developmental milestones each kid needs to achieve. This will help them succeed in life, both personally and academically.
