Short tips you can use straight away, at home, with no preparation.
10 short tips for developing children’s speech and language
- Share attention — look at things together, point at them and name them.
- Look at books together, name the pictures, read them stories.
- Get down to their level and face them while you talk.
- Use a pushchair where the child sits facing you, so you can talk to them.
- Take out the dummy and switch off the television. Play with your child.
- Repeat their sounds and words back, to give them a good model.
- Have their hearing checked.
- Sing songs and nursery rhymes to your little ones.
- Let every activity be a chance to learn language.
- Remember to keep your own language simple and easy to follow.
Stimulation
Hold a box of biscuits, but do not open it until the child has asked for it in some way. Or respond only once you get some vocalisation from them. At the start the child does not need to say words and sentences correctly — only to vocalise, or to say something that resembles a word. What we want is for the child to learn to use their voice as a way of starting things and exploring.
Be a good model
An important part of learning to speak is listening. A child learns new sounds and words by listening to the people around them. Say words clearly and slowly, and use plenty of intonation. If your child tries a word and does not get it right, praise the effort. Do not make them repeat it and do not correct them — say the word back correctly, to show you understood and to give them an accurate model.
Onomatopoeia
The easy words and sounds you can introduce while your child is small are called onomatopoeia — “moo” for a cow, “beep-beep” for a car. They are short, single-syllable words that children find easy to say, and they encourage vocalising, imitation, early vocabulary and understanding of language.
Motivation
Sometimes a game is the best way to get a child making sounds. Blow up a balloon, hold it, say “three… four… NOW” and let it go. After a few rounds, pause after “three… four…” and wait to see whether your child says “NOW” — most likely it will come out as “OW” or “NA”, and that is exactly right.
Music
Music is an excellent way to engage a child and encourage them to listen. Songs focus attention on intonation and stress and carry a rhythm that supports speech development, and awareness of syllables matters when learning to speak.
Reading books
Reading matters a great deal for mental health: it improves communication between parents and children, builds confidence and creativity, and lowers anxiety and stress. Reading aloud to children from the earliest age is strongly recommended — it is natural early stimulation of speech and it enriches vocabulary.
How to improve speech articulation
- Articulation exercises — aimed at particular sounds, for clearer and more precise speech.
- Oral motor exercises — strengthen the muscles involved in speech and improve control of movement.
- Practising correct production — pronouncing sounds and words both in isolation and in context.
- Building vocabulary — more words means more chances to practise correct pronunciation.