There is nothing more exciting than hearing your young child babble for the first time. The simple “mama” or “baba” that young children utter as their “first words” is something that parents wait for – finally, my child is speaking! While some children may start picking up words and communicating almost as soon as they start to babble, others take a little longer to master the art of verbal language. A sentiment shared by many parents is, “What can I do to help my child find his/her words?”

Language is an important skill that allows us to communicate not just our wants and needs, but also our thoughts, ideas, and emotions. Language begins to develop in young children before they can even use words, as evidenced by a baby who cries when he is hungry or a young toddler who points and grunts towards an object that he wants. As young children grow, language becomes more crucial to their development as it allows them to convey their thoughts in a much more meaningful way. While every child follows their own timetable for reaching milestones, our role as supportive adults is to create opportunities for children to flourish in their development. Early language skills are learned best through meaningful daily interactions with your child. Below are some tips on how you can help enrich your child’s language development:

Act it out. Acting out verbal language can help young children grasp language. You can use simple baby signs, movement, gestures and facial expressions to communicate with your little one. Action songs are also a great way to incorporate movement and language.

Books, books, books. Reading to infants and toddlers increases their exposure to language. Young children also learn through repetition so stories with repeated phrases/words can help expand your child’s developing vocabulary.

Chat with your child. Have conversations with your children at every given opportunity, no matter how one-way it might be. Research consistently shows that the more parents and caregivers talk with their children, the larger vocabularies those children tend to develop.

Describe what your child is doing. Think of your self as a sports commentator giving a play-by-play description of your child’s play. Say things such as, “I see you are stacking your red and blue blocks on top of each other,” or “You are riding your green tricycle very fast around the playground.” Include as many descriptive words as you can to add new words to your child’s vocabulary.

Environment. One of the key aspects of the Reggio Emilia approach is that the environment is the third teacher. Create spaces around your home that encourage language development. Provide access to writing materials, such as paper and crayons, to encourage early writing skills. Labeling materials in their environment will help develop print awareness. Have language rich materials available for your child’s dramatic play, such as cereal boxes, magazines, newspapers, etc. Provide a comfortable, inviting space that is dedicated to books and reading. You can lay out rugs and pillows with an accessible bookshelf or even just a basket of books.

The most important thing to remember is to simply enjoy this time with your little one. Celebrate each milestone that they reach and know that they will get there in due time. Our role is to simply provide encouragement and support them as they grow and develop.

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