Your toddler learns language from being immersed in their environment. If their environment isn’t stimulating them, and engaging their senses, they won’t learn as quickly.  Assisting them develop language is something you can proactively engage in. Remember, your toddler will learn in their own time, and they are constantly absorbing what’s  going on around them – even if they don’t mimic and demonstrate their skills right away.

Here are some ideas, to assist their language development:

• Read to them – picture books, with bright colours, repetition, and lots of rhyme are fun. The other thing you can engage  in, is chatting to them about what’s going on in the pictures. For younger children, “touchy feely” books are fantastic for this.
• Sing to them – they don’t care what you sound like, and music, encourages memory.
• Chat about what you’re doing, as you’re doing it. If you’re washing the dishes, talk about which dish you’re up to, and what its used for.
• If you’re into DVDs and TV – sit and watch a children’s program together. Chat about it.
• Play rhyming games, with actions.
• If you have an older child, play simple versions of I -spy (i.e. I spy, with my little eye, something BIG, and RED, and ROUND)
• Make flash cards, you could use photos of every day objects, with the word printed on the back.
• Engage your child’s existing language skills, by asking them questions. Get them to tell you about their day, or their activity.

Language, and literacy, are tools that empower our youngsters, and help them communicate in this big wide world. Every little bit counts, and it’s all stored away for future use.

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