Little Bloomers

As you know, parents play a critical role in the development of their children’s language skills.  But how?  If you want your child to develop excellent language skills does that mean that you must invest in picture flash cards, educational computer games, or fancy baby compact discs? No, no, and no. Language is best learned through a natural, social context which cannot be provided via computer.

The best way to help your child develop tip-top language skills is to talk with her.  This can be done easily throughout the day by talking about your daily routines, building upon her questions and comments, and spending time reading and discussing favorite picture books.

As the year progresses, you will see posts for simple yet effective ways to help develop your child’s language skills. So here is tip number one:

Expand the Conversation

Studies show that parents who ask more questions, encourage more conversational turns, and build on the information that the child offers have children with more sophisticated language than parents who do not.  Once your child expresses an interest,  that is your cue to keep the conversation going. It is a great opportunity to introduce new vocabulary, concepts, and to demonstrate conversational turn-taking.  Here is an example:

Child: I see truck

Dad: Wow! That is a big truck, isn’t it?  See that big yellow one?

Child: Yes.

Dad: That’s called a dump truck. It carries loads of dirt and rocks.

So here is a good example of Dad expanding on his child’s interest in trucks by introducing new vocabulary and reinforcing the concepts of size and color. Research shows that building upon your child’s interests to expand and enrich conversations has big results that can be seen as early as 18 months of age.

Opportunities to expand conversations can occur any time and any place;  at the grocery store, during dinner, at bath time, any time! Just remember to follow your child’s interests, keep it simple, keep it fun, and watch your child’s language bloom. 

If you are interested in reading more about how children learn, I recommend Einstein Never Used Flash Cards, by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff.