How Your Child's Language is Growing
|
How You Can Help
|
|
Your child likes to watch and listen to people who are speaking.
|
Take time to smile at your child and ask your child a question while
you are talking to someone else, for example, "Oh, you heard Mommy say
cookie, didn't you?"
At mealtime, seat your child where it is easy to watch and listen
while others talk.
|
|
Your child still babbles; but she sounds like she is talking, and
sometimes she uses real words.
|
Take a turn and babble back to your child. When your child uses a
real word, say the word back to her, showing her that you are excited
about her saying the word: "You said JUICE!"
|
|
Your child still uses gestures while trying to talk. For example,
your child wants a ball, and reaches toward the shelf and says, "Baa." |
Reward your child by paying attention to her.
Give your child the word or words to say, for example, "You want
your BALL. Emma wants the BALL."
|
|
Your child looks at you to see how to react to
certain events. Sometimes children both point and look at you: When a ball
rolls past, your child points to the ball and then looks at you as if to
say, "What should I do?" This is called
social referencing , and it
is an important part of language development.
|
When your child looks at you for guidance, be sure to answer what you think
she is asking: "That's a ball. You can pick it up. Go ahead.". . . or
. . . "Yes, you can have that cookie!"
|
|
Your child uses language to get attention.
|
Reward your child by paying attention to her.
|
|
By 12 months, your child uses more than 3 meaningful words. By
18 months, your child uses 20-50 words. By 24 months, your child uses
50-250 words.
|
Reward your child when she tries to talk by:
- talking with her
- answering her
- giving her what she asked for (if appropriate)
- smiling and paying attention to her.
|
|
Your child likes to name things; and points to things for others to
name. She may ask, "What's that?" She is clearly interested in
learning words.
|
Tell your child the names of things she points to and encourage her to
repeat the names.
Take your child on "tours" of her room, her house, her yard,
her street. Point to items your child seems interested in, and tell her
their names. Praise her for trying to say the words.
|
|
Your child points to familiar objects in pictures. Your child may
also point to things for others to name, asking, "What's that?"
|
Tell your child the names of things pointed to, and encourage your
child to repeat the names.
Show your child photographs of people she knows, and look at picture
books together. Tell her the names of people and objects. Encourage her
to repeat the names. Praise her when she tries.
Look at sturdy books together and talk about what's in the pictures.
|
