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Babies and toddlers all have different personalities and different developmental speeds. Some toddlers can say a few words and some don’t say any. Regardless of where your toddler is now, you can start fostering vocalizations and speech with these very simple tips.
If you give them a try and have success, then go online and search for more tips on helping your toddler to speak. There are a ton of sites with an almost endless list of tips and most are pretty easy and fun. At the very least, trying these tips out will have you spending a little more quality time with your toddler, and that never hurt anyone. 🙂
1. Get Totally Emerged
If you want to get a verbal response from your child, then your best bet is to get down into their world. Get on the floor and play with them. Use songs or games like peekaboo to introduce verbal expression into your play time. This time you spend interacting with your child is very beneficial to developing communication and interaction, and much better for them than any type of on-screen interaction from a TV show or DVD.
2. Be Happy & Excited
If you want a somewhat antisocial kid to warm up to you or an already social kid to be your new best friend, then just be super happy and excited to be with them. If you’re not feeling particularly excited some day, then strap on your game face! Your excitement will carry over to them and make the feel really great about themselves.
How does this translate into helping your toddler talk? Well kids on the receiving end of your happiness and excitement react in positive ways. They feel good around you, and are more likely to “open up” and begin talking to someone with whom they feel happy.
3. Stoop to their level.
Talk to your children at a level that they can understand. Using big words, or expressing very complex thoughts may confuse them, and they’ll feel less inclined to respond to you than they would if you were using simpler words to express ideas they can comprehend.
For babies repeat single words or sounds that they can identify with a simple action, like yelling “Weeeeeeee!” whenever you swing them. For toddlers, you can use simple combinations like “drink water” whenever they are using their sippy cup. As they start to use these words and simple phrases, then start using ones that are a bit more complex. Just keep building up to the next level as they naturally expand their vocabulary.