Let's Talk! Encouraging Children's Language Skills

Learning to talk happens naturally and normally for most children. Talking is learned without traditional "studying". By age 3, most children are talking very well. However, children master grammar and social rules over a period of time. Non-verbal or unspoken aspects of talking with others also are learned over time. Non-verbal "language" includes eye contact, gestures, body posture, as well the "tones" in a person's voice that have meaning.

Children learn to communicate by interacting with their parents, families and other people in their lives. It's the back and forth of talking with others that helps children not only talk, but learn how to use language socially. We all speak and use language because we need something or want to share something. By helping children to speak well you are also growing their social skills

Building Conversation Skills

How should parents and child care providers support children's learning about talking? The most important thing parents can do is talk to their baby. Just talk. Share what you are doing, what you are seeing, and how you feel. It is important for your baby to hear language. Talk and assume that your baby does understand. Talking with your child opens up the inborn capacity for language learning, and helps to grow the parent-child bond.

There are several ways to encourage language. Focus on what is familiar for children. You can talk about:

• Daily Routines: Everyday life is full of "new" words and things for young children. Talk about your child's daily activities: what she is doing; the food she is eating, how the food is prepared and the utensils to use, the clothes she is wearing, the kind of transportation being used.
• Stories (and Movies): Talk about the characters in a story you are reading: who are they, what they are doing, why they are doing anything. Pick out any words that may be new to your child. Language and reading go hand in hand, so take this opportunity to encourage reading skills as well.
• Trips/Outings: Outings are always great for talking. If you go to a nature park, talk about the trees and flowers. Talk while at the grocery store about the foods you are choosing.

Words to Talk By

Talking involves using words - a lot of them. Parents and other adults naturally use simple, basic words when talking to children. They use words that are familiar to children - words that refer to things in their environment and that are important in their lives.

Children's language skills grow quickly in the early years. They learn the words they hear, the words that are spoken to them. By the time children are 3, they have a vocabulary of nearly 1,000 words.

When talking to your infant, toddler or preschooler, use words that describe things, how they look, feel, taste, and smell. Use "feeling" words to help children to talk about their everyday experiences. Keep it simple. This list is only a small sampling to get you thinking about how you can help increase your child's growing language and conversation skills.

Ways to Promote Language Skills

Child care providers and teachers learn a lot of the following strategies as part of their training to work with young children. These simple strategies take place in conversations and will help with building language skills. You don't really have to always focus on how you are talking with your child, but keep these tips in mind and use them when you can. It will soon become second nature.

Infants

• Talk to your baby when holding him, feeding him, changing him. ("Are you hungry? Okay, time for milk.")
• Narrate what you are doing in your daily routines. ("We are taking a walk in the park." "Into your car seat, you go.")
• Talk in short sentences and use short phrases. ("Roll the ball." "A pretty blue bird.")
• Use pauses and stretch or emphasize words. ("See the mooonkeeey.")
• Respond to your baby's sounds and attempts to talk. ("Are you cooing? Well, hello to you too!")
• Read to your baby. (Read books especially for babies/infants that focus on basic words, including shapes, colors, sounds.)

Toddlers

• Play games that involve turn-taking. (Play games such as rolling a ball back and forth to each other. "I roll it to you. You roll it to me." "I had a turn. Now it's your turn.")
• Build your child's vocabulary during normal conversations. ("That's a big house." "It's a big house with a chimney on top.")
• Help your child know words to talk about and describe feelings and emotions. ("You seem sad." "Are you sad because it is time to stop playing?")
• Give simple one or two word instructions. ("Give me your bowl." "Wash your hands.")
• Match your child's speech in length and complexity. ("Drink?" "Drink juice?" )
• Respond to your toddler's communication and stay on topic. (Whatever your toddler talks about, follow her lead. See where the "conversation" can go.)
• Read to your toddler and have your toddler join in. (As you read books for toddlers, have your toddler turn the page and ask questions such as "What does the cow say?")

Preschoolers

• Respond to and have conversations with your preschooler. (Preschoolers love to ask questions - answer them. Ask your own? "What do you see?" "Do you think that rock is heavy?")
• Talk about what your child is doing and what you're doing. Ask questions that extend their thinking. ("What kind of picture are you drawing?" "You're doing a good job of cleaning up." "What do you think will happen next in the story?")
• Practice taking turns in conversations. ("What did you do at the park today?" "Wow... do you like to go high on the swings? I like going really high.")
• Read with your preschooler. Involve your preschooler as you are reading. (As you read with your preschooler, ask your preschooler to guess what will happen next? Ask your preschooler why a character did something in the story. Not only will you encourage conversation, but you are also stimulating analytical thinking.)

So talk to your baby. Have great conversations with your toddler and preschooler. By doing so you are supporting their language skills, their social skills and their thinking skills. Everything in your baby's growth is connected. But the best thing about talking with your child is developing the bond that you will always have with one another.

For More Information

• Is This the Right Place for My Child?: 38 Research-Based Indicators for High-Quality Child Care. This booklet and checklist were created as a guide for parents to help them better judge quality when considering child care programs. All of the questions are based on research about what is important to your child's health, safety, and development. One of the important aspects in child care, as in taking care of your child at home, is focusing on children's language development and speaking skills. A high-quality child care program will have language skills development be part of their curriculum for all age groups they serve.
• PBS Parents. PBS's parent web pages have a variety of parenting and practical information that parents can download. Talking with Kids page has a variety of strategies parents can use when talking with their children and covers a variety of aspects from how to handle meltdowns to positive ways to talk and listen.
• Language Development in Children. A brief overview of children's typical language development by age.
• Books and More Books. Reading is an important part of language and speaking skills. Reading and language go hand in hand. The more your child reads and is read to, the more words she will hear and know and be able to use. Reading should be part of your child's life every day. Go to the library and choose books that are right for your child's age. For preschool and older children, allow them to choose books that interest them. Many libraries have regular book readings for young children. There are several online sites that encourage reading and make it fun for children as well, e.g. Reading is Fundamental.