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Language Development in Toddlers: How to Encourage Communication

Most kids learn how to communicate to get what they need or to start and keep a relationship with an adult they care about. From the moment they are born, babies can communicate by making sounds, making faces, and moving their bodies. Babies learn to communicate more effectively when adults respond to their attempts to express what they want or need. While your child’s communication skills are always developing, you will notice the most growth and improvement during their toddler years.

What Affects Toddler Communication?

Talking to your toddler is the biggest thing that affects their communication. The best way for toddlers to learn to communicate is to talk with you and other people. To foster communication, it is important to observe toddlers’ interests, make comments, and wait for a response. Talk to toddlers whenever you can, whether you are playing, reading books, preparing dinner, going shopping, or doing anything else.

How Can a Parent Encourage a Child’s Language Development?

Playing make-believe games and talking about feelings and memories are directly linked to kids’ language and communication development. Play pretend games or games that use opposites, like “on” and “off” or “big” and “small.” Also, get your kid to talk about and look forward to the future.

Grandparents reading a book with granddaughter.

How to Develop Language Skills in Toddlers?

Having lots of conversations with your child about things that interest them is the best way to help them learn new words. Follow your child’s lead when they wave, babble, or talk about something they’re interested in—it encourages communication and builds their confidence.

Start talking to your baby from day one, treating them as if they can respond. Use a variety of words in different situations to help them understand meanings and how language works.

How Can I Improve My Toddler’s Communication Skills?

Caregivers at a preschool in Potomac, MD, can have the greatest impact on a child’s communication skills. Children absorb everything we do. Here are some suggestions to help children learn more words and learn to communicate.

Give Your Toddler Your Full Attention

Being physically present is not enough when it comes to paying attention to your toddler. It means knowing how to talk to your kids, listening to them, and reacting to them. When giving your child your full attention, you want to make eye contact with them so they know you are paying attention.

Pay close attention to your children when they talk; when they’re done, ask questions to keep the chat going. If not, they might not feel important, which could make them stop talking.

Mother reading to her toddler.

Praise Their Communication Efforts

Parents often don’t understand that talking isn’t the only way to communicate. When it comes to early communication milestones, “words” include sounds, what the child understands, gestures, and sign language. Try to recognize any signs of communication from your child and praise them for any kind of effort they are making.

Read Together

Spend a few quiet moments together reading a book. Urge your older child to flip over the pages and indicate what he sees. As you wonder together what will happen next, ask your older toddler how the characters could be feeling. Allow the kid to select the books. Your time together will be more focused and pleasurable if the book is interesting. Additionally, reading to children teaches them more than just language and literacy. They are learning that you love them, like spending time with them, and that you respect their choices and interests.

Encourage Pretending in Toddlers

Pretend play typically allows children to express themselves more freely. Discussing Teddy Bear’s fear of the dark can be more comfortable than the child’s. Additionally, pretend play offers the opportunity to assume various positions and role-play what other people might say, think, or do. In addition to language development, this fosters social abilities like empathy.

young african american man playing with building blocks on floor with toddler

Tell Your Toddler About Your Daily Activities

Telling your child about your daily activities as you do them allows your toddler to form links between words, things, and movements. “I have to do the dishes. So I need to add this dish soap to the hot water to form a type of bubble bath.”

Tell them what you’re doing to take care of the child. “Let’s get in the tub so we can take a bath. We will use a washcloth to wash your body. And we will wash your hair with some shampoo after we get your hair wet.”

As you play, talk to each other. For example, “You’re brushing your doll’s hair. Her hair is long. Are there any knots?” You can start a family practice where everyone talks about their day when the toddlers are old enough to talk. Question the child about her day. Once she begins to talk, encourage her to ask you questions.

Keep Things Clear, Concise, and Age Appropriate

If your child is a year old, you can say something like, “Go get the ball.” To an 18-month-old, you can say things like, “Please go to your room and get your shoes.” In two steps, make sure you have the child’s attention first by calling his name, touching him gently, or making eye contact. You can ask an older kid to repeat the question back to you to make sure he is heard and understood.

Give Your Child Time to Answer

Kids’ brains, particularly those of very young kids like toddlers, often need a little more time to think of an answer, especially if they cannot talk. They just need a little more time to think about our questions.

We often feel like we have to answer the question for them because they didn’t respond fast enough. Giving kids enough time—at least 5 to 20 seconds—allows them to process what was said and respond thoughtfully.

Final Thoughts on Encouraging Communication in Toddlers

Learning to talk is only a small part of a child’s ability to communicate. As caregivers at a preschool in North Potomac, MD, can tell you, developing your child’s communication skills includes both verbal and nonverbal skills. It is important to remember that children acquire language naturally; therefore, we should pay attention to their interests, observe and listen to how they communicate, and encourage them in taking their language skills to the next level.

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