Communication is a critical aspect of cognitive development in babies.it is very crucial to encourage learning. A child’s learning and reading skills improve when they can speak and understand well.
For toddlers experiencing difficulties with their language or who have not started to speak effectively after a certain age, parents are advised to engage them in fun activities that will help them develop their language skills.
Below are language activities for Toddlers that will help them model their language skills.
- Sing with him.
Sing along to nursery and rhyme with your little one, this will help him improve his language while having fun at the same time. You can also introduce new words and teach him nouns and verbs using songs.
- Read him books.
Reading books to your toddler before bedtime is a great way to introduce him to different and new vocabularies each day. A book with images in it is the best book to start with, ask your little one to relate to the pictures and let them identify the images.
- Join the dots.
Draw a dotted outline of alphabetical letters and ask your toddler to join the dots and identify the letters. This basically helps to enhance his motor skills and also teaches him to write down the letters he has identified.
- Play telephone games.
This is a perfect and fun activity that will enhance your toddler’s language skills. Get you and your little one a toy telephone and act like you are dialing his number and encourage him to pick up his phone; also teach him how to say “hello”. Doing this frequently will have your kid develop good phone etiquette and speaking skills.
- “Name the Thing”
Play “name the Thing” game with your little one by pointing to various objects in the surrounding environment. Ask your baby to name what he sees around him and when he seems stuck, help him out until he begins to say them on his own.
- Speak in complete sentences
Asking your little one simple questions will give him a clear understanding on how sentences are constructed. Ask him a simple question like “Are you tired?” and teach him how to respond in full sentences, this helps to articulate his thoughts better.
- Have intelligent conversations with him.
They might not respond immediately to what you are saying to her, but be sure that she will be keenly listening to you. Ask her about her thoughts, opinions, likes, and dislikes and pay attention to her response and repeat what she said using coherent and correct sentences.
- Stress on the details.
When having a moment with your little one, encourage him to speak in detail. You can achieve this by pointing to an object, say a flower, and when he says “flower” you can add and say a beautiful flower, add more detail on whatever thing he identifies in his environment, the idea is to develop his vocabulary and observation skills.
Teaching your toddler Language development skills means you are setting him up for future success for he will be able to communicate with a lot of ease and express his feelings better in a clear manner. However, patience is key here, for it might take a bit longer for a toddler to pick while others they might pick instantly. It is also medically advised to seek pediatric help if you notice delayed speech and poor language skills after the age of three.
