10 Things You Can Do To Help Your Child's Speech Development

1. Read. This may seem like a no brainer to many parents and caregivers. However, the more we read aloud to our children, the more words they hear. Hearing words and having books read to them helps their vocabulary tremendously.

2. Communicate. Talk with your baby or toddler. Sing. Promote your child(ren) to imitate sounds and gestures. For example playing peek a boo.

3. Respond. Respond your baby when they coo and or make noises in a positive manner. Respond to your toddlers in ways to promote speech. For example, your toddler may say "Want juice", responding with "You want juice? I have apple juice". Try to engage them in a short conversation to promote speech about their needs.

4. Praise. Praise your baby and toddler when they make any noise or progress!

5. Gestures. Point to things you see such as colors and shapes and say what they are. You can even count what you see so you can work on words but also hearing numbers and counting as well. Wave hello and goodbye. As your child gets older, you can still use gestures when outside for a walk or a bike ride, keep pointing at things, asking your child if they know what an object might be or have them describe what they see.

6. Directions. Give your child directions, such as "Go to your room, and bring me a book". This helps them comprehend language as well as follow directions.

7. Use everyday life to make conversation and connections. Ask your child before dinner to put the napkin under the spoon, discuss what is for dinner and what's on the table. You can even discuss textures of foods, colors, shapes, etc to incorporate learning through a meal.

8. Categories. Help your child see what belongs in a category or not. For example, would this apple be put with our shoes or with our fruit in the fruit bowl? This helps children make connections and understand what

9. Play games. Playing games with your child at these ages is extremely important. Children learn through play! Play house with your child, talk about chores, have them play the role of a parent. Some children love to play school, have some fun materials on hand, or color and talk about the picture they are coloring, what colors they are using, and engage in conversation.

10. Placements. When coloring or playing, use words such as "first", "middle" and "last" or "up" and "down".

These are some great ideas to start with your baby or toddler with speech activities. The greatest things we can continue to do to help our child's success with speech is to talk to them! The more we talk and read to our children, the more words they hear, the more social they will seem, and they will start to make connections. The more we speak and read to them, the more sounds they will hear and they will start cooing or mimicking sounds over time.

Again, if you have any concerns on your child's speech and language development, please do not hesitate and contact your child's Pediatrician.

References:

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Activities to Encourage Speech and Language Development. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/Activities-to-Encourage-Speech-and-Language-Development/.

Hartnett, J. K. (Ed.). (2019, November). Delayed Speech or Language Development (for Parents) - Nemours KidsHealth. KidsHealth. https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/not-talk.html.

Help your Baby's Communication Development: Free Resources. Pathways.org. (2021, March 29). https://pathways.org/topics-of-development/communication/?gclid=CjwKCAjwq7aGBhADEiwA6uGZp6MUX7jEblk3TAJbgDseXUiu_fqaBYq9OGRhN7wI8scfIGTwJ5oOSRoC7GsQAvD_BwE.