These ten top tips can be done any time: at breakfast, at bath time and anywhere in between.
- Comment on what your child is doing when you are playing together.
- Have fun with nursery rhymes and songs, especially those with actions.
- Gain your child’s attention when you want to talk together.
- Encourage your child to listen to different sounds e.g. aeroplanes, animals, the postman.
- Increase vocabulary by giving choices e.g. Do you want orange or apple?
- Encourage your child to communicate in any way, not just through words
- Talk about things as they happen e.g. unpacking shopping, having a bath, watching television.
- Give your child opportunities to talk, and give them plenty of time to think and speak (try saying a bit less yourself: ‘less is more’!)
- Help your child to use more words by adding to what is said e.g. “ball” can be expanded to “Throw the ball” or “The ball has gone”
- Try and have a special time worth your child each day. Play with toys and look at pictures books. Books can be especially helpful for developing early language.
