Children develop language and communication by achieving various milestones. Milestones are behaviors that emerge, which help form building blocks for continued language growth over time. Parents and caregivers can play an important role in helping children achieve speech and language milestones.
Below is a list of different activities that you can do at home to help your child build up their language skills.
If your child is under one-year of age you can:
Talk to your child as you do everyday things
Read them books (e.g., colorful books, books that have various textures and patterns)
Label everyday objects
Respond to their verbalizations
Describe what you are doing and/or what they are doing
Play simple games with him/her such as peek-a-boo
Sing to them and read them nursery rhymes
Take them to new/different places and situations
If you child is between the ages of 1-2 you can:
Talk about new situations before you go and while you are there (then again when you get home)
Praise your child’s efforts at communicating
Talk to him/her about everything you are doing (e.g., talk about what you are making or what you are doing while playing with them, etc)
Label toys and objects while playing
Your child currently learns through play
During play, model the names of toys, the noises animals and toys make, what different toys do, etc.
If your child is between the ages of 2-3 you can:
Help your child listen/follow instructions (e.g., pick up the ball, touch Daddy’s nose, etc)
Talk about what you are going to do for the day
Read books and talk about what you see on each page
Books can be used in so many different ways, we can read the words, but we can also label pictures and actions, talk about what characters we see and what they are doing, and so much more!
Listen attentively when your child is talking to you
Help expand on what they are saying by modeling
If your child says “juice” then you can say “more juice”
If your child says “dog”, then you can elaborate by adding one word to - big dog or brown dog.
By modeling and supporting language at home, you can help your child build important skills for continued growth in communication skills.
If you feel as though your child is having difficulty developing speech and language or if you have any other concerns, please feel free to reach out to us at The Aubin Aphasia Speech and Language Center to schedule an evaluation or discuss therapy options.
~ Victoria King, MA CCC-SLP
