Building language early on: ideas for parents

About building language early on

There is lots of research indicating that children with solid language skills in the early years will have strong literacy skills through school and in later life. The quantity and quality of words spoken to a child is associated with the strength of a child’s language, vocabulary and iQ later in life. Beyond just words however, research tell us of the powerful influence of giving positive feedback to children, engaging in conversations and narrative telling with children and engaging in play with children. Perhaps most significantly in this day and age, is the research that indicates that children learn language best when they are directly spoken to, rather than through passive absorption for example, from watching TV.

Here are a few tips for building an environment where children can linguistically thrive:

1. Take time to tune out of technology and tune into your interactions with your child. This can seem tricky, especially when work tends to follow us home and life just gets busy. Sometimes we might need to make conscious decisions to put our phone down, shut the computer lid, or put the iPad on the shelf.
2. Language learning does not have to be complex. Develop a habit of chatting to your child about the everyday things: shopping, getting in the car, swinging at the park, doing the laundry. Tell them what you are doing if you are studying, doing work or planning an event. Let them ask questions.
3. Try avoiding overloading on “No”, “Stop”, “cut it out”. A good piece of advice I once heard was this: If you see a child doing something they should not, give them the option of what they SHOULD do, rather than just saying “No, don’t do that”. This gives them something to do and it also helps them see what would have been a better option. “No, don’t draw on that” could become, “Come and draw on this instead” (of course, you should explain why!)
4. EXPAND: when your child points to an object and says something, use the opportunity to add more language.  Add new words.
5. Remember that communication is more than words. Tune into their body language, expressions and feelings. Respond meaningfully.
6. Particularly with younger children, remember that it is important to follow their lead. This means you engage in play scenarios that are significant and meaningful for them and are great opportunities to promote provide a rich language input.
7. Be ready to get down to your child’s level when communicating. Imagine you always had to talk looking upwards. When you are at your child’s level, you can have good eye contact and really engage in conversation – and they learn to read your face, expressions and social cues.
8. Give positive feedback – be specific! Great goal, you drew that really well, you got the ball in – good shot!
9. Read. This is such a powerful tool for language learning. Talking about pictures, lifting picture flaps, verbally highlight new words and use expression.
10. Sing and play. Sounds simples, so often gets underused. Playing with your child is a great language stimulator – as is singing.
11. Watch screen time – and by that I mean monitor screen time. Language learning best occurs through person-to-person interaction. Also, time a child spends in front of an iPad, TV, or computer is time lost interacting, building friendships or learning new skills.

Watching a child acquire language skills is such a remarkable thing. Language building occurs through the routines, play and personal interactions we have on a daily basis. It is important to remember however that even if you do these things, some children may still struggle with speech and language development. If you are concerned, it is important that your child be assessed by a speech pathologist. This assessment can give you an indication of where your child’s strengths are, and where they may need further support.