How to Teach Your Toddler Beginning Language Skills

If you have a toddler or work with toddlers, you probably notice how they will watch you when you talk or how they give out the name of a favorite cartoon, movie, or television character. Most toddlers of two or even three years speak mostly in one or two word phrases and then not always clearly. Some sounds are difficult for toddlers to form, and they may still point to an toy or piece of food they want. Here are some tips to helping your toddler improve his emerging language skills.

Instructions

1. Letter blends are almost like tongue twisters as they use both the lips and tongues at the same time. Bl, pl, sp, fr, pr, sq, and st are some of the most common blends found at the beginning of words and phrases. In the beginning, when your child uses a blend in a word, have her look at your mouth directly and slowly sound the blend out.

2. Take the word "spaghetti". Most toddlers say 'paghetti'. Sound the word out as ssss, then pppp, the s--p--aghetti or s--paghetti. Do this each time your toddler uses a word with a letter blend. It may take weeks or months for a toddler to be able to form these more complicated sounds, so be patient.

3. When your toddler points to an item with an "I want" or "Give me", clearly state while looking directly into his eyes that he must ask for the items. For example, if your toddler demands a banana, tell him he must say please and that he must state "Can I have a banana?" This helps when learning manners, teaches a child that demanding is not acceptable behavior and helps him begin to learn to put words together to form a sentence or question.

4. Take a few minutes each day to sit with your toddler and, picking out three or four items in a room or in your house, tell your child what each item is. Speak distinctly and slowly, looking into her eyes, so your toddler can see how your mouth forms the words. It may take several days or a week or more before she begins to remember and use the new words she has learned.

5. Purchasing simple picture books or checking them out of the local public library for your toddler is another good way to introduce new words. Most picture books will have one word, usually in large black print, beneath a picture, so toddlers can learn to see and say. This is good for beginning memorization skills as well.

6. Always introduce simple one syllable words in the beginning. Once your child seems comfortable, introduce two syllable words. Once again, try and look her directly in the eye when speaking. Compound words take longer to speak with total clarity.

7. The more words your toddler learns, the sooner he will probably be able to put two words together. Then he will more than likely put three or four words together.

8. Having your toddler hold and touch an item while you are introducing its name. This gives her more of a direct connection to the name and may increase the likelihood of their learning the word sooner.

9. Use these same exercises and techniques when out in public, for example, in the grocery store, sitting in a parking lot in the car or at the park.

Tips & Warnings

• The key is repetition, repetition, repetition.

• Use patience and do not chastise or punish a child when he cannot get a word correct as soon as you would like.

• If the word being learned is a type of food, reward him with a piece of that food.

• Children learn at different paces. Some children can pick up a new word in a day or two, while others may take weeks.

• Always remember some words are difficult and more complicated, needing both tongue and lips at the same time. Sometimes the tongue touches the roof of the mouth at the same time as the lips come together, like bl and pl blends.