Important points
- Talking, singing, and playing with your child builds a strong foundation of language skills from an early age.
- Support your child’s language development with age-appropriate activities, with strategies tailored to your child’s stage.
- Don’t worry about perfection. What really helps language grow is encouragement and connection.
Language is universal. It’s no wonder, then, that as parents, we want to do everything we can to support and strengthen our children’s language skills. By promoting your child’s language development, you can put them on track to achieve their communication milestones.
“Communication milestones are skills that, on average, a child is expected to master by a certain age. These milestones build on each other and help us know whether a child’s development is on track,” Adena Dacy, M.A., CCC-SL, told the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
But how exactly can you support your child’s growth in language skills? What should you do every day to improve your child’s comprehension and expression? Here are seven ways to encourage language development at all ages and stages.
Promote language development in babies (0-18 months)
Your baby’s little coos and gurgles are part of their early communication. They may seem small, but these vocalizations are fundamental to language development.
Sing to your baby and play music often
Music is a powerful tool for early language development. listen to their favorites cocomelon Singing songs and nursery rhymes increases your baby’s ability to hear patterns, rhythms, and new vocabulary.
Research supports a link between musically rich environments and improved communication skills in young children. Keep this song playing while you’re in the car or dancing around the kitchen while your kids cook. The child is learning beat by beat.
Talk to your baby, including gestures and other sounds
Babies are sensitive to changes in pitch, volume, and rhythm long before they begin to form words. These cues help children begin to associate sounds with meanings, allowing them to associate crying with a caregiver coming to help.
Rachel Cortese, a certified speech therapist, explained to the Child Mind Institute: “Babies begin to notice the correlation between vocalizations and having their needs met. This leads them to begin intentionally communicating their needs through pointing, body language, and making more sounds.”
Therefore, although the baby is not yet able to communicate verbally, he pays attention to all the actions of his mother and uses it as a basis for developing communication skills.
Promoting language development in young children (18 months to 2 years)
Now that your baby has entered the toddler years, the way you communicate begins to change. But that doesn’t mean their language development is over. Between the ages of 18 months and 2 years, toddlers are likely to reach several communication milestones, such as being able to say 10 to 50 different words, following simple instructions, and using simple two-word phrases.
Read often, often
Reading to your child daily is one of the most effective ways to support language development in young children, even if they are not yet able to sit up. Picture books help children expand their vocabulary through word recognition, introduce new concepts, and develop a love of stories.
Research consistently links reading with improved language outcomes. Encourage interaction by asking toddlers to point to pictures, repeat words, or turn pages together.
narration
Narration is a simple and effective way to model language. Try these two techniques.
- what do you talk about you For example, “I’m folding laundry.” or “I’ll make a delicious snack for you.”
- what do you talk about your toddler “You’re building with blocks.” Or, “You’re driving a car and moving the wheels. It’s a green car.”
This constant flow of descriptive language helps your child connect words with actions and objects, and ultimately build sentences.
Preschool and beyond: Helping children improve their language skills
As children reach school age, the way we support their language and communication skills is changing. You’ll be working on this at school, but there are some things you can do at home too.
Encourage dramatic play
Pretend play is not only fun, it enriches the imagination and supports important language development. When kids pretend to be chefs, astronauts, or superheroes, they practice storytelling, express emotions, and construct dialogue.
These imaginative games strengthen vocabulary and help children experiment with sentence structure. Participate if you can, or just listen. You can often hear them imitating phrases picked up from books, songs, and conversations.
Ask open-ended questions
Don’t lock your child in with only “yes” or “no” questions. Ask questions that leave room for explanation. There are several questions to consider.
- “What did you make with blocks today?”
- “Why do you think the duck was swimming in circles?”
- “What would you do if you had superpowers?”
In some cases, you may be surprised to find that they end up creating completely different conversations.
avoid over-correction
Just like anything else we learn in life, there is a learning curve in your child’s language development. Don’t be too quick to correct or criticize if you get the tense, verb, or pronunciation wrong. They may interpret this feedback negatively and become reluctant to continue their efforts. Or you may feel embarrassed.
Instead, try repeating the sentence with modified wording. This gentle approach will help children learn how to use it correctly without getting discouraged.
