How to Enhance a Child's Language Development

A child's ability to learn many aspects of language is fixed by age 3. Therefore the language skills that a child has at age three will be the basis for all further language development. This is why enhancing your child's language development from the very beginning is critical.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Teach your child to use sign language. This can be started as early as 9 months and allows your child to talk before he can even say words.

2. Set up the environment so that your child has to communicate in order to get what she wants. For example, give your child one cookie and then place the other cookies out of reach but within eyesight so she has to ask you for "more."

3. Narrate your life. Self-talk is another great way to enhance language development. Describe what you're doing and how you feel. For example, "I am putting my shoes on. First the left foot and now the right foot."

4. Expand on what you child says. If your child says "juice" you can expand on his utterance by saying, "More juice."

5. Use parallel talk to enhance language development. Talk about what your child is doing at the moment. For example, "Molly is tossing her ball."

6. Rephrase what your child says. Recasting allows parents to repeat a child's message back to him while modeling correct grammar and sentence structure. If your son says, "Papa go home" you respond with "Yes. Papa is going home."

Tips & Warnings

• Sit face to face and at the child's eye level whenever possible when speaking to help enhance language development.
• Follow your child's lead. If you want to read a book but she wants to play blocks then play blocks. You can enhance language development in any play situation.