Promoting Language Development

From the moment your child is born she or he begins to communicate with you. While babies do not have words, they use their sounds and their movements to indicate their wants and needs. Over time, we learn to differentiate their various cries and can decipher a hungry cry from a cry indicating they are wet and uncomfortable. You learn that when your baby pumps his hands and feet at the sight of you it’s because he’s happy to see you and wants to be picked up. Babies’ communication style evolves over time and is often patterned after what they see and hear. Therefore, how you interact with your child and the examples you set for them are important.

In order to encourage your child’s language development, always talk to them even when they are nonverbal. Babies learn language best when adults talk with them. You can do so by commenting on what you or your baby is doing. For example, as you are changing the baby, describe or narrate your actions to the baby. Try to respond to your baby’s babbling. This will lead to a back and forth ‘discussion’ between the both of you. Babies who are talked to a lot tend to learn language faster and have bigger vocabularies.

Encourage your child’s language development by reading to them. Early reading with a child will also promote their love of books and learning. You can also tell stories to your child to stimulate their language. This is also a way to bond with your child. Another fun activity to do with your child that will help stimulate their language development is singing to them. Singing allows your child to hear words and phrases repeated over and over again. As a result, they are more likely to remember and repeat these phrases.

As your baby gets older he will begin to use words to communicate his desires. Of course, his vocabulary will be limited and he will begin by first using word approximations to say what he wants, for example, ba for ball. Encourage your child’s use of language by sounding out the complete word for him and over time he will get it. Eventually your child will develop a vocabulary bank and she will begin to use one or two words to communicate an entire thought process. You can help your child to learn more by saying, in a full but simple sentence, what you know she means. Sometimes your child may use actions and not words to communicate. For instance, he may take you by the hand and lead you to his favorite toy to indicate a desire to play with that toy. You can help by stating the message your child is trying to communicate.

Once your child has developed a fair repertoire of words and is starting to communicate in full sentences, continue to build upon his or her vocabulary. Talk together with your child and read with them. Encourage their learning by asking them their thoughts and ideas. Discuss their day with them, ask open-ended questions and avoid asking yes or no questions. When reading with your child ask him about the book, for example, which part of the book was his favorite part.

Remember that while we do everything we can to promote healthy development for our children, children grow and develop at their individual pace. There should be no need for concern as long as they remain within the broad average range of development for their age group. Please refer to the following link for healthy expectations for language development:

%https://www.aapd.org/globalassets/media/policies_guidelines/r_speechmilestones.pdf

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