10 Creative play ideas to encourage your baby to talk

Get those first words flowing with these tips and tricks for toddler language development

Last updated: February 17, 2021 | 15:12

2 MIN READ

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According to Dubai-based therapy centre Sensation Station, a 1-year-old will usually use 2-6 single words, while a 2-year-old often has 200-300, and will combine words together. That’s a huge leap in just one year!

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If your child is a little slower off the mark, there’s plenty you can do to encourage them. Here are some simple tips to help toddlers get talking…

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Young children can’t differentiate between contrasting sounds in order to focus on what you’re saying.

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As they get older, this will help them see how your mouth moves when pronouncing words, and which objects you’re talking about.

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Listen to their babble, wait for a pause, and respond as if they’ve just made perfect sense – “yes I love my porridge too!”

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Even before 12-months-old, simple actions like waving while saying “bye-bye” will help make the connection.

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Talk to your tot about what they’re doing, and repeat the name of the object.

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Try incorporating actions and, before long, you may notice that your little one starts to understand simple commands from the such as “clap your hands.”

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Not only will the repetition help, but adding an extra word will start to show them how to make simple sentences.

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Reading the same books regularly will let them associate pictures with words, and as your child grows in confidence, you can pause to see if they can finish the sentence.

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“Find me your shoes”, “go and get your hat” - these simple things will cement use of language in every day life and make your toddler feel a huge sense of achievement.

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Try to keep calm, look for non-verbal cues, and give plenty of praise along the way.

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For more tips, tricks and milestone information follow @chattyness_slt on Instagram.

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