Before we jump into encouraging language development, there’s an important shift in your mindset that has to happen when it comes to speech therapy for toddlers. We have to remember that toddlers are not preschoolers, they are not school-age, and they are not infants.
When I first started working with toddlers, I set myself (and the toddlers) up for failure every session. I was asking them to do tasks beyond their current developmental abilities. Talk about a tough start! At one point, I even questioned my own abilities. It was hard not seeing the progress I expected, the toddlers weren’t paying attention to tasks, and, probably the most daunting… answering parent questions.
Language Development in Toddlers
It’s been several years since that fateful day when I realized I was asking too much of my toddlers. Over the course of time, continuous research, and a lot of trial and error later… I’ve divided the ability to improve toddler language development (which, by the way also tends to improve their overall communication skills) into 3 categories. Elements of each category can be implemented into everyday routines, work with most speech therapy goals, and are easy enough that parents can do it when you’re not there! They are perfect for encouraging language development in toddlers.
Talking to Toddlers
Reading with Toddlers
Playing with Toddlers
Talking to Toddlers
I used to tell people to “be the Morgan Freeman” of your child’s life. He narrates a lot of documentaries and the actions that others are doing…but he can also be kind of monotone. I’m beginning to think a better way to describe it is to be the Mrs. Rachel of your child’s life. Be animated, exciting, engaging, and fun!
Talking through activities exposes toddlers to different aspects of language and communication development: prosodic features, descriptors, expanding utterances, vocabulary recognition, and conversational exchange! Not to mention there are also major benefits for speech sound development. Encourage parents to talk to their toddlers and play using simple language and exciting or different voices.
Reading with Toddlers
Reading activities are so important because they impact so many different areas of development. They don’t always look like sitting quietly together and reading a book- in fact, with toddlers, it will probably not look that way for a little while. Instead, reading activities are a perfect time to practice conversational exchanges, joint attention skills, pointing, vocabulary, and listening.
And what do all these concepts have in common? Building communication.
Reading with babies and toddlers is so dang important.
I love this topic so much that I’ve also written a blog series about it.
Playing with Toddlers
There are so many different levels to play. For the sake of this blog post, I am going to talk about the developmental levels of play.
Developing and using play as a means of learning is important because it is something that toddlers are supposed to do instinctively. When toddlers play they learn, explore, and develop their skills. More importantly, when you join in a toddler’s play, it puts you and helps you see the world through their eyes.
Playing with toddlers is about following their lead, going where they go, and engaging in their world. You can read more about the developmental levels of play here!
These 3 categories: talking to toddlers, reading with toddlers, and playing with toddlers are broad and can encompass a ton of activities in a variety of settings. Most importantly, they are things that parents and caregivers are already doing! When it comes to encouraging toddler language development, we want to encourage parents and caregivers to build on the skills toddlers already have.
