How to Continue Your Child’s Language Development at Home
As any parent quickly learns, the development of children’s language is explosive during the formative years of 0 to 5. They go from babbling, to chatting, to first words, to telling us every thought that pops into their brain in what seems like the blink of an eye.
And the formation of their language skills is important for so many reasons:
It allows them to express themselves.
It allows them to communicate and develop relationships with others.
It supports their ability to think, learn and problem solve.
It is the base for continued learning and development.
Because of its importance, parents often ask how they can continue their child’s learning and help encourage their language development. Below are some activities you can do with your child at home to foster this.
Talk
Even if they can’t answer or it seems like they’re not paying attention, children are always listening. The more you talk, the more they are learning about sounds, words and the flow of conversations. Try narrating what you’re doing in the moment, say it out loud so your child can hear it and respond to any attempts they make to communicate back to you. You might feel silly and like you’re talking to yourself but it really is doing so much for your child and their learning. It also makes them feel seen and heard which is great for their confidence.
Explore the Environment
Continuing on from just talking, when you’re out and about, point things out! Talk about what you see, ask them what they see, or play a game. I Spy is a favourite game among young children and helps them to distinguish and describe their environment.
Read
Find time to read with your child every day, even just one book before bedtime. Seeing the words you are speaking and being able to connect them with the written words in the story helps them make the connection between the two forms of language. Try to read a variety of books to expose them to a greater number of words.
Listen to Music and Sing
Listening to music exposes children to another way that language is used. Playing favourite songs and singing them together is a fun way for children to learn new words and helps them to discover the tempo of language.
Imaginative Play
Let your creativity flow. Ask your child to come up with characters, locations and scenarios for you to act out together. Let them lead and watch new words come to life as they use their imagination to continue the story they’re creating for the two of you as you play.
It’s very likely you are already doing most, if not all of these things so continue to do them consistently and you’ll see your child’s language continue to bloom and grow.
