How Do You Promote a Child’s Language Development?

As a parent, your role in your child’s speech development is crucial. Time and time again, it has been proven that children who are constantly read to or spoken to during their early childhood years develop wider vocabularies and better language expression than those who aren’t.

Check out these helpful tips on how to nurture your little one’s speech and language development.

Tips to Promote Language Development in Your Child

From reading and singing to conversing intelligently with your child, there are quite a few ways to improve his or her language abilities.

1. Never Stop Talking to Your Little One

You can narrate the day as it goes by if you want to. Your children will be more than happy to hear you tell them that they’ll be eating breakfast, taking a bath, taking a nap, going to the park, visiting grandma’s house, or doing any of the activities that you’ve got lined up for them during the day.

When you do this, your child may not be able to understand some of the details yet, but you can be sure they will be listening keenly.

2. Read to Your Heart’s Content

One of the best ways to develop language in your children is by reading to them. There’s no question that this will improve how your child reads and comprehends in the future.

You can start with simple picture books early on and then progress to longer, more elaborate stories as your child grows older. Making regular storytelling a part of your child’s schedule helps them develop a love for reading and books.

3. Listen to Music

There’s so much to love about music, including the way it can help improve your child’s hearing and speaking abilities. It’s a fun way to introduce new words and phrases to your little one that he or she can use later on. Songs and rhymes also offer your child a look into how the world works.

4. Engage in Storytelling

Hearing elaborate stories can be a really fun and exciting way for your child to learn new things. You can make up characters as you go along, introduce new adventures, and add new elements that will make storytelling an even more enriching experience for your baby. As much as possible, keep things light and not too scary to prevent frightening your little one.

5. Pay Close Attention to Your Child’s Interests

The stories you tell, the music you let your child listen to, the songs you sing, and the books you read should all be things your child is interested in. To know what your kids like, all you have to do is follow their lead. You’ll know if they like what you’re doing if they keep on asking questions and interacting with you.

6. Give Praise and Encouragement

If your child can’t speak well enough or has trouble pronouncing words, then don’t pour your frustration of the situation on him or her through criticisms. Instead, be patient and encouraging to your little one. If your children’s statements are wrong, say it back to them correctly until they eventually get it right.

7. Be Very Careful of Hearing Defects

Hearing defects can impact how well your child is able to improve on his or her speech and language skills. They can put your child at risk of hearing loss and, in turn, speech delays.

Since ear infections are, more often than not, the cause of such problems, make sure to treat them properly using the medication prescribed by your child’s pediatrician. Your doctor should then arrange a follow-up visit to make sure the infection has cleared.

8. Be Sparing With Technology

Being the busy parents that we are, we often find ourselves relying on our phones, televisions, laptops, or tablets to keep our children distracted. Take note that this solution doesn’t necessarily bode well for speech and language development, especially concerning children in their early childhood years.

In fact, a child under two years should not be watching television, and one who is two years and older should only be allowed to watch a total of 120 minutes of quality shows. While some programs on TV can be educational, they don’t respond or interact with children in a way that helps them learn their language.

9. Take Your Child Outdoors

Introduce your children to the rest of the world. You can take them on a trip to the museum, the zoo, or the aquarium to promote curiosity and encourage them to ask questions. You can be sure your child will want to learn the names of those fascinating sea creatures, land animals, and natural structures he or she has only previously seen in picture books.

Final Thoughts 

There are tons of activities that help promote speech and language development in children. Naturally, as parents, we want our kids to be able to communicate effectively at an early age and understand what’s being said to them, as well as what’s going on around them. 

If your child’s language abilities are not quite at the level children his or her age is supposed to be at, don’t hesitate to use these speech-focused activities to your advantage, along with some speech delay exercises for toddlers that are guaranteed to help.