Robin's Page

 

Robin Barker's  regular granddaughter diary, and baby care column. Granddaughter Sage also joins us with a baby persepective on life.

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Diary - August

Sage is very clever. I have a tattoo of a quill – a feather – on the inside of my arm and last week we see a feather in the book we are reading. I tell her it’s a feather then show her my feather. Now whenever I say ‘where’s grandma’s feather,’ she rolls up my sleeve, points to it and bursts out laughing – actually we both burst out laughing. What fun – she is so clever.

Sage’s speech is coming on in leaps and bounds. She’s now got around twenty or more words (Kim is more up to date than I am).

Speech development is huge of course because it’s the way we can start to tell what toddlers are thinking, how they are feeling and what they want. As their speech develops it removes a lot of the guesswork involved in their care, for example, ‘is it teething?’

Here are some ways to encourage toddler speech and language development

Talk to him and, as often as possible, make talking fun: It is important for your toddler to have someone to listen to. Never underestimate how much he can learn from listening. Tell him who you are, where you are, what you’re doing and all about the people and things you can see, hear, smell and touch.

Listen to what he’s trying to say: It’s vital for toddlers to have an audience even if it gets a bit wearing at times. Acknowledge his attempts even if you don’t understand exactly what he’s saying.

Give him time to respond: It sometimes takes toddlers a while to work out how they are feeling and what it is they want to say. Try not to interrupt him or fill the words in for him too quickly.

Talk in simple, short sentences slowly and clearly, pitching the language at his level. Some adults are under the impression that toddlers should be spoken to as though they are adults, but simplifying language and repeating phrases now and then helps toddlers learn more easily.

Communicate with your face and hands: Gestures and expressions help him understand what’s being said.

Repetition helps get the message across even if you do have days where you feel you are going round in circles.

Acknowledge and praise his communication attempts. It’s not necessary to correct his grammar and pronunciation however it does help if you repeat his sentences back to him in the correct way. For example, for ‘nana goed home’ reply ‘yes, nana’s gone home.’

Play with him as you go about your day: Sing songs, play peek-a-boo, clap hands, play tickling games, make funny faces, look in the mirror.

Let him help you with some of the household chores (when you can): For example, hanging out the washing, putting away shopping, washing a few dishes or sloshing around with a mop (lovely thought). Doing tasks that have a beginning, a middle and an end help him to develop the ability to explain, talk about things that happen in his world and tell stories.

Look at books with him every day: Don’t worry if a younger toddler can’t sit still long enough to listen to the whole story, just talk about the pictures. Look too at the colours, shapes, numbers and letters. Take him to the library, spend some time there and find new books to read.

Tell him stories: Invent your own – he especially likes stories where he is the main character or which include embellished events from his day-to-day life.

Sing to him: Stories and nursery rhymes

Play recorded stories and music: To listen and dance to.

Robin Barker 20©04

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