When my children were little I loved hearing them mispronounce their words. It was absolutely adorable but at the same time they were growing up so fast. Most preschooler-aged children hold onto some of the baby expressions.
It’s important to encourage our children to develop their language skills no matter how cute their baby talk still is. Providing a lot of language interaction when your child is a toddler and older is absolutely important once they start to go to school. Children are being exposed to new concepts and ideas every day, they are curious to learn and quick to pick up.
Let’s lose the baby talk and help our young ones speak like a big kid!
Introduce new words
As you go about your normal routine day with running errands and activities try introducing your little ones to new words. Often kids are able to know the meaning of new words based on context and when you take the time to teach them what these new words mean. For instance, if your child’s favorite animal is a lion you can tell them that that animal is a mammal and mention some other mammals as well. You can even explain what a mammal is and help identify other animals that are mammals with your child.
Your child’s interest is key
Our children are always obsessed with something new. It’s a clue to get their interest when teaching them new words as well. If your child loves dogs, you can explain that there are different dog breeds.
Rephrase the words
Sometimes our children might revert back to their previous days of baby talk. When your child uses a word that you used during their baby days rephrase it in a positive way and not to focus that they had said the word incorrectly. For example, if your child asks “I want my blankey” respond to them with “You want your blanket?”.
What are some ways you have helped your child develop their language? Did you play games that involved words? Share below with us!