Tips to Stimulate Language in Children
- Talk, talk, talk! Talk about what you are doing and what your child is doing. Your child will learn to associate words you say with the actions, objects and feelings you describe.
- Gain your child's attention before you speak. Notice where your child's attention is focused and talk about those objects, events, and people.
- Be a good speech model. Speak clearly and naturally and use correct speech sounds and real words.
- If your child has a speech error, say the sound correctly in your own speech. Don't correct your child in the early stage of speech development.
- Show your excitement when your child vocalizes, imitates your mouth movements or sounds, or uses new words or sounds.
- After you talk, pause and give your child a chance to respond.
- Respond to any of your child's communication attempts, including cooing and babbling sounds. Imitate your child's sounds or words and add to them.
- Expose your child to a large number and variety of words.
- Even though children frequently learn new words, it's a good idea to repeat the same word frequently.
- Ask questions that require more than a 'yes' or 'no' answer when your child is developmentally ready.
- If your home is bilingual, create many opportunities to hear and use vocabulary from both languages in everyday interactions.