How Your Child's Language is Growing
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How You Can Help
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Your child learns the sounds that things make. For example, your
child points to a duck and says, "Quack!"
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Teach your child animal sounds using:
- pictures in books
- stuffed animals
- real animals.
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Your child begins to play pretend with familiar objects and routines:
picking up a baby bottle and "feeding" a dolly.
Children often act like their caregivers while they play, by using
particular gestures, words, and expressions. |
Play pretend with your child. When your child pretends to put a doll
to bed, say, "Is your baby sleepy?" or "You are a good Mommy (or Daddy).
You take care of your baby."
Give your child toys and other items that she can play pretend with,
for example, plastic cups, small baby blanket, small pots and pans, toy
cars, toy animals, dolls.
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Your child begins to use sentences, but still uses one word to mean
a longer statement, for example, "Cookie" means "Get me a cookie."
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Expand on what your child says to show how to speak in short sentences.
For example, when your child drops a cookie and says, "Oh, Oh!" say, "Oh,
oh, the cookie fell!"
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Your child understands some action words, for example, drink,
eat, and run, point, pick-up.
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Use action words when you talk with your child.
Ask your child to perform some actions: "Throw it to Mommy!"
"Put it in the basket." If your child has trouble performing these
actions, help your child do it while you repeat the directions.
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Your child enjoys sturdy books, and plays with them like toys.
Children carry books around, turn pages, and give them to people to
read to them or look at together.
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Make sure your child has sturdy books to play with, look at,
and have read to her.
When your child brings you a book, say, "Yes, let's read!"
Let your child be active while you read. Let her turn pages,
point to objects, say words, close the book.
Make reading books a part of your daily routine. |
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Your child enjoys hearing songs and rhymes. |
Sing to your child and recite rhymes during routine times such as
diaper changing, dressing. Also use songs and rhymes while rocking,
swinging, bouncing your child. Repeat the songs and rhymes often so your
child will learn to recognize them.
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Your child can use crayons and scribble, with supervision.
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Provide large crayons and large paper so your child can move the
whole arm while coloring. Show your child how to use paint, chalk,
and playdough.
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By 18 months, your child can understand simple directions, for example,
"Put the book on the shelf." "Give your diaper to Daddy."
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When you give your child directions, point and emphasize the
important words to help her understand. For example, "Put the BOOK (point)
on the SHELF (point)."
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By 24 months, your child can name objects he sees in picture books.
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Look at simple picture books together. Take turns naming things in the
pictures as you point. "Look, what is inside the box?"
Make sure your child has some books of his own, so that he can look at
them again and again.
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By 24 months, your child will point to parts of the body when asked.
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Take turns naming and pointing to body parts-on you, your child, a baby
doll or a stuffed animal. "Can you find the teddy's nose?"
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By 24 months, your child will sometimes use two words such as
"More Cookie!" and "Mommy book!"
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When your child uses a one-word statement, expand on it while
you answer your child. Emphasize the new word. For example, your
child says, "Drink!" You answer, "You WANT a DRINK?"
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By 24 months, your child will learn
new words more quickly.
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Continue to help your child learn new words as you talk with her and read to her.
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