How to help your child’s speech and language at home
Be a good model – Talk clearly and slowly and face your child when speaking. If your child says a word or sentence incorrectly, rather than correct them or ask them to repeat it, just say the word / sentence back to them to show you have understood. This way your child always hears the correct version. This is how children learn language. It lowers children’s self esteem if you are constantly asking him/her to correct their speech, just model it and they will eventually correct themselves with time. For example Juice, a child may say duce, you will then just repeat Juice.
Remember your language level – don’t use words or sentences that your child will not understand. Speak to them without using complicated language and explain any new words you use .
Make time to sit down with your child – even if it is just for a few minutes a day (although the more one-to-one time the better), spend some quiet time with your child, away from distractions. Look at a book together and talk about the pictures/story, or even just a cuddle and ask them if they have enjoyed their day. Use language such as mommy liked going to the park today, what did you like ?
Turn off the TV – New evidence shows that too much TV prior to starting school can affect listening and attention skills, which will impact on their learning once they start school. Have some quite time no music no TV and let them play, join in with their play and communicate, this way they can hear you clearly without distractions.
Observe and comment – when you are playing with your child, take a step back, do not feel that you have to fill the silences, just comment on the things that your child is doing, so they can hear (and learn) the new vocabulary. For example they bring you a plastic cup and say for mommy, you can then say oh thank you is it tea ?
Let your child lead – let your child lead the play. This can build self-confidence and does not put pressure on them to talk and respond to the adult all the time.
Books, books, books – books can be used in many ways to develop language and early literacy skills. Evidence shows that children that have more exposure to books prior to schooling often find that they develop literacy skills earlier.
Sing songs and nursery rhymes – songs and rhymes contain rhythm and rhyme, skills that help with speech and literacy development.
Feed language in, don’t force it out – comment and expand on your child’s words and sentences, rather than asking them to repeat words. If your child says “car”, respond with “big car” or “yellow car” or “fast car”. This is how children learn words, by hearing new vocabulary and linking it to the items or events they are focussing on.
Make every opportunity a language learning activity – If your out and about- Point to things, name them, sing a nursery rhyme, or ask a question. You don’t have to set aside a specific time of day to learn language, every activity is a language learning activity.
Bath time – Use lots of vocabulary during bath-time, talk to your children and model the words for them. Introduce vocabulary: Verbs: wash, scrub, rinse, clean, brush, dry, splash, sink, float. Nouns: soap, towel, water, tap, flannel, bath, sink, body parts. Sing songs in the bath.
If you have any worries about your child’s speech and language development please ask the staff, they will have support to help you and your little one.
It’s grass and it’s green –They interact so much with their siblings, the world is full of opportunity to learn new language.
Now we need to know if your child understands the language they have learnt
We have many parents tell us their child knows lots of words, but do they understand them.
How can I support the understanding skills of my child.
Supporting children’s understanding of words and sentences is a really important part of developing their communication skills. You can your child’s understanding using the tips below.
Get your child’s attention before talking: Say your child’s name to get their attention before saying something else.
Follow your child’s lead – Watch and notice what your child is looking at, then tell them its name (e.g. ‘It’s a tractor!’). This helps to build your child’s understanding and works better than asking your child what things are called.
Repeat words again and again. Children need to hear a new word lots of times before they learn it properly. You can help by repeating words often in lots of different sentences and at different times. For example, repeat the word ‘branches’ by pointing to the tree in a book and saying things like, ‘look at the branch’, ‘it’s a big branch’, ‘he’s climbing along the branch’. Then when you next see a tree outside, repeat the word branch again, saying something like, ‘there’s a squirrel on that branch’.
Give your child choices. Rather than saying “Would you like a snack?” give them a choice such as, “Do you want raisins or cucumber?”. Show them the food at the same time as naming it to help their understanding.
Keep your sentences short and simple. Help your child to listen and understand what you are saying by talking in short, simple sentences. For example, when playing alongside your child, use simple sentences to name what they are playing with and what they are doing, for example, ‘sand’, ‘digging sand’, ‘sand in the bucket’.
Emphasise important words when you are talking. For example, if your child is building a tower you could say, ‘Wow, that’s a tall tower!’, making the word ‘tall’ stand out by using your voice, excited facial expression and by using your hands to show how high it is.
Break up requests into short chunks or steps. It will be easier for your child to follow simple requests given separately like “go and get your jumper”, “now get your water bottle”, and then “put them in your rucksack”, rather than telling them all of these things together.
Talk about the “here and now”. Talk about real things that are there in front of your child. For example, talk about the food your child is eating, the toy they are playing with or the picture they are looking at. It’s easier for young children to understand things in the “here and now” rather than something that has happened in the past (or will happen in the future).
Use real objects, pictures and actions. Show your child an object at the same time as talking about it. For example, say ‘the windmill’s spinning round and round’ while your child is watching it spin. Do the same with pictures in books or photos – point to show your child the thing you are talking about. Use props with stories, for example, if sharing a story such as Handa’s surprise have the real fruits to show as you talk about them in the story. This will also help keep your child engaged. Finally – use your hands! For example, stretch your arms wide when talking about something that’s ‘big!’.
Give your child thinking time. It is important to leave gaps or pauses when talking with your child – it gives them time to think about and understand what you have said. Try saying something and then counting to 10 in your head before you speak again – your child may surprise you with what they say or do next!
Sing favourite action songs and rhymes regularly with your child, we have said previously about singing and nursery rhymes they are so important. Doing the actions at the same time will help your child understand the words. Don’t be afraid to repeat – hearing the same songs over and over helps them learn the words in the song.
Please use the links below which have so much support for your child’s language, communication and understanding development.
https://www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/toddler/learning-to-talk/learning-conversations-and-telling-stories-3-to-5-years/
https://www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/toddler/learning-to-talk/chatting-and-building-sentences-2-to-3-years/#:~:text=Activities%20like%20pretend%20play%2C%20counting,what%20they’re%20playing%20with.
https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/areas-of-learning/communication-and-language/listening-and-understanding