Category: Talk

What are the first sounds babies begin to use?  You will hear their first cooing/gurgling sounds around 6-8 weeks.  These sounds typically occur at the back of the mouth so think “ga-ga-ga” sounds.  When they begin babbling between 6-9 months you will likely here “Mamama”, “Bababa”, or “Dadada”.  It’s when you begin to respond to these babbles they begin to attach meaning that “Mamama” goes with “Mama” or “Dadada” goes with “Dada”.  As you model “Mama” and get very excited, the babbles shorten in length.  They figure out that, when I do this with my mouth and make these sounds only twice, that important lady who always takes care of me, responds to me and gets very happy😊  These sounds can be important indicators on what’s to come next.  Your interactions and responses play an important part with more sounds and words that happen over the next year.

 What’s an easy, fun way to help this continue to expand?  Animal sounds, environmental sounds, and exclamatory sounds.  What does that include?  Glad you asked! Ask yourself what animals do you and your baby see regularly.  In your house, around your neighborhood, looking at books, playing with their toys, etc.  Model when you see them, “Moooo says cow”, “Woof-woof says dog”(or insert your own dog’s name), “Tweet-tweet says bird”.  You get the picture. 

What are environmental sounds?  “Vroom-vroom goes the car”, “Beep-beep says the bus”, “Choo choo says the train”, and so on. 

Exclamatory sounds you ask?  “Ta-da!” Here they are(hope you caught that example right there!):  “Boom”, “Uh-oh”, “Plop”, “Wheee!”, “Whoa!”, “Wow!”, “Zoom”, “Mmmmmm!”, “Ahhhhh”.  You can model these sounds as soon as your baby begins to smile at you(6-8 weeks) as you begin bonding through daily interactions-feeding, diaper changes, and play.  Follow their lead sometimes too!  Imitate the sounds they make and see how long they will keep the exchange up. This is the beginning of the natural pauses in conversation and learning about turn-taking!

Laundry.  One of my least favorite chores. It has to be done though so why not make it a learning experience while you get the kiddos to help!  While it may make the process twice as long, your young children can build vocabulary as you name the clothing you are putting in the washer or dryer, or as you’re folding.  If they are helping to load, you can also expand to model word combinations(Pants in! or Go in!).  When the clothes are dry, even small children can follow directions to find certain items, learning to sort(All the socks go here).  When they begin to match, they can match all the socks for you!  You can also attach possession to clothing and help them learn “my” vs “your” or “Daddy’s and Mommy’s”.  Labeling colors is also a great way to expand on naming the clothing as they get closer to preschool(Blue shirt).  This monotonous activity can be such a great natural learning experience, and they are helping you with chores!

Words/Sounds to include: shirt, pants, socks, shorts, underwear, in, out, wet, dry, my, your, colors, etc.

If you are a parent/caregiver of a toddler, you already know the majority of your day is spent teaching them there are limits to set for their curious minds!  Often the word “no” occurs more than we would like sometimes.  When your child begins to use it, it can be overwhelming to teach them whin it is o.k. to use it and when it’s not.   Sometimes, children say “no” when they actually mean “yes”.  Not only is the word an easier sound combination for some children, but Although hearing “no” from your toddler all day long can be difficult, it is important to remember “no” is an essential word!  We have to use it to answer questions and to make choices/decisions all the time.  There are many ways to help your child learn to answer “yes” or “no” accurately.  For children who are experiencing difficulty expressing themselves, it can be one of the most helpful ways for them to communicate with others.  The following are examples to help your child learn to respond “yes” or “no” accurately:

“YES”

Adult: Do you want cheerios or crackers?

Child: Gestures toward cheerios(with or without verbalizing

Adult: You want cheerios?*       

Child:  Imitates nodding head and makes attempt to imitate the word

*Hold the cheerios up to your face while nodding “yes” before giving them the cheerios while modeling “yes”*

“NO”

Adult: I found your boat!(Playing in the bathtub) Does it go up in the sky? 

Child: Giggles or gets frustrated

Adult: No, that’s silly!(Try it in a silly voice while shaking your head)   

Child: Laughs and imitate “no”

*Plop it in the water to play*

These strategies can work in almost every routine and activity we engage in with our children!  If you have any questions, feel free to message me!

*Important to remember: Give your child time to respond to questions depending on their level of frustration in the moment. Typically it is recommended 3-5 seconds of wait time.*

What is receptive language?  Although it means our understanding of language, it is not commonly understood among parents/caregivers.  Most of the time the focus is on expressive language, which is how we use language.  One of the top questions on the questionnaires we as parents/caregivers fill out during regular pediatrician visits is “How many words is your child saying?”.  However, almost more importantly, we should know what our child is understanding!  We can attach labels to everything our children see or experience in their environment very early on!  From the time they are tiny, we are talking to them; during feedings, diaper changes, and play.  This is how they begin to learn that everything has a name!  As they begin to sit supported or independently, you can help them learn through all of their senses, then helping them to touch or eventually point to objects/pictures as you name them.  Then they begin to walk and you can begin to give simple directions, as well as, make sure they respond to their names.  For example, “Joey, get your cup.”.  You will also most likely need to point at first to show them where it is or walk with them to show them to pick it up.  As you praise them for following through, they will begin to learn names of objects they use or need on a regular basis, as well as, action words.  Soon, they will begin to respond to “Where is Daddy?” by waddling over, or remembering where they put their favorite toy as you wonder out loud, “Where did that ball go?”, finding it for you!  You can eventually begin to include them in some simple household chores, such as telling them to take out all the socks in the laundry basket for you😊.  Children learn best from their parents/caregivers through every day routines/activities.  Start early talking to them and they will show you early on how much they take in!

Over the last few months, we have all been spending time outside with our families even more often than before.  With Summer ending and Fall right around the corner, Winter will be here before we know it!  Let’s get out and take a walk!  Whether your kiddo is in a stroller, wagon, or walking with you, this is a great opportunity to teach them new words.  Think of all the things they can see and touch outdoors.  Label what you see while pointing to it or even helping your child feel all the different textures.  For example, “Look a flower!” or “There’s a tree!”.  When they are a little older, you can add some descriptive words as well.  “The grass is green”, “The plane flies high up in the sky”, “Splash in the puddle”, “All wet!”.  Encourage your child to feel the bark on the tree and how rough it is, then how soft the grass is or even the dog you may see!  If you have multiple children, make your walk a game so they can find certain objects you tell them to, like an “I spy” game.  When your child spots what you asked them to find, model “I see the….” for them to imitate.  This builds on the words they may be using to label the objects as a natural expansion. There are so many bright colors right now to point out and describe.  Soon, we will be describing all the beautiful Fall colors and the “Fall” objects we will be seeing.  Children learn new words so quickly as adults around them teach during regular routines and activities.  Let’s take advantage of the outdoors as long as we can to have fun engaging with our children while teaching them in a fun way.  Plus, we all get some exercise which will help everyone feel good while soaking up all kinds of information!

Sound/words to include: trees, grass, flowers, birds, bees, butterflies, leaves, house, sun, sky, clouds, rain, snow, hot, cold, wet, dry, big, little, up, down, colors, car, truck, bus, plane, bike, train, vroom, beep, zoom, choo choo, stop, go, names of animals and their sounds, hi, bye, etc.

Ever wondered how much children can learn while riding in the car? Whether your child is rear facing or forward facing, it can be possible to learn new fun things during car rides, long or short!  Some children love car rides, some do not. For those who don’t like it so much, we can find ways to distract them from their protest by utilizing language! As you are getting them in the car, describe what you are doing, maybe even by singing it.  For example, “Up, up, up we go”, “For a ride we go”(tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat), “For a ride”, “In the car”, “For a ride we go”. Talk to them about getting their arms in the straps(Arms in, 1, 2), buckling it up(Snap!), then “Here we go!”.  When able, talk about what you see during the ride, sing some songs(especially for the riders that don’t enjoy it so much).  For the forward facing riders, ask them questions about what they see or hear so they can tell you.  If you’re not the driver, maybe even offer some choices of drinks or snacks, which is also a good way to keep them distracted from any anxiety they may feel.  Use a lot of descriptive language as you talk about what you see.  For example, “Look!” “A big truck!”, “There’s a blue car”, “Awwww what a cute puppy!”, “There’s a cow, what does it say?”, “Mooooo, that’s what a cow says!”.  Even if they aren’t able to, or choose not to repeat sounds/words back to you, they are still absorbing the information and will eventually engage in imitation.  Most importantly, have fun with them and enjoy the time without having to worry about the regular interruptions of life! 

Sounds/words to include: car, seat, sit, up, down, in, out, go, stop, buckle, snap, truck, plane, house, trees, sun, clouds, stars, moon, sky, beep, zoom, slow, fast, name animals you might see, colors, foods/drinks you may have, etc.

Music is a universal language. Most children at a very young age respond to, engage, and interact with music.  It can be used to get children to move or to help soothe/calm them when they are upset.  Music makes us feel many emotions. We can also use it to teach our children sounds and words!  Whether it’s popular music you hear on the radio or familiar children’s songs, it can be a fun way to teach them to imitate or anticipate to fill in sounds and words.  Some common children’s songs that can often be heard at schools or child care settings are:  Wheels on the Bus, Old McDonald, Isty Bitsy Spider, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Row, Row, Row You Boat, Happy and You Know It, Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, ABCs, and the now very popular Baby Shark.  Many of these songs also pair actions to the words.  Most children will imitate actions first, then begin to pair a sound/word/word approximation with the action.  Children who are less vocal/verbal will gain confidence with action imitation and once they feel able to imitate the sound/word, will do so without even realizing it.  For some children, the motor actions are enough of a distraction from speech being difficult for them that they eventually begin to make sounds.  As parents/caregivers, we can build their engagement and interaction while singing songs with them by pausing at the end of a phrase or certain part of the song.  This will give them the opportunity to try to fill in the pause.  For example, while singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, pause before saying “down” to start with.  Your hands will already be up ready to show them the gesture of “Down came the rain” so they will have the visual cue of what is coming next in the song.  During “Old McDonald” or “Baby Shark”, give them the opportunity to decide who(animal or person) comes next.  First ask “Who’s next?” to see if they can suggest, or give them a choice if they aren’t able to.  For example, sing “Old McDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O” “And on his farm he had a …..” “Cow or horse?”.  That way they can imitate what animal they want next.  You can pause at the sound so they can fill it in.  It usually works best if you don’t pause until the last phrase of the sound the animal makes so they hear it a couple times first(Everywhere a ……).  When they are able, give them the choice of what song they want to sing with you. Such as, “Do you want boat or star?”.  Then model the full name of the song for them if they are only at the single word level.  As long as they are familiar with the song, they will love to try to sing along.  It will boost their confidence to try new sounds and words, and they will enjoy the engagement with you!