Unlocking Language Potential: Boost Your Pre School Child's Speech and Language Skills with My 3 Easy To Do at Home Top Tips

Top Tip 1: Get face to face with your child

With our busy modern day lives, it's easy to forget that the first thing we need to do when we want to support our child is to be present when we're with them. This means getting down on the floor with them and ideally sitting opposite them so they can see your face. You might even need to lie on the floor with them or move around the room as they move around the room to keep face to face with them. Why is this important for speech and language development? Your child can see your mouth move as you say words and might start to copy words themselves. Being face to face means that your child can see that you are interested in what they are doing and you are ready and waiting to interact with them. This can build their attention and engagement. They can also see your facial expressions and how you express emotions on your face which is a really important skills to learn. Try it out! The next time your child is playing with their toys, see what happens when you sit down with them opposite them. Do they try to include you in their play? Do they try to interact more?

Being face to face is really important when you need your child to listen and follow an instruction. If you get down to their level, say their name and wait for them to look at you first, you are giving them the best chance of hearing and listening to you. Once you have their attention, give your instruction - "Gemma, it's time to go. Get your shoes". Have you noticed that your child doesn't respond if you ask them to do something while they are busy playing, or you're over the other side of the room getting dinner ready? It's likely that they're just busy focusing on their play and are not hearing what you are saying. Young children aren't programmed to split their attention yet so they can't play and listen to someone talking to them at the same time. This is why you should have more success if you go over to them, get down face to face and get their attention properly first. It might take longer, BUT, if you only have to ask them to do it once, wouldn't that be nice!!

Top Tip 2: Keep your talking short and simple

One of the best ways to help your child with their talking is to simplify your own talking. This means using 1 word, sometimes 2 words, sometimes a few more depending on their level, but NOT long and complicated sentences. This is because your child's brain is not wired to understand long sentences yet and why it's important to talk to your child as if they are a child and not a grown up! While it's great to introduce new words and vocabulary, we don't want to skip the basics.

Generally speaking, a child who is 1 year old can understand 1 word at a time. So they might understand naming words like - Mummy, Daddy, cat, biscuit, milk, shoes etc.

A child who is 2 years old can understand 2 words at a time. Can they find the red hat? Where is the blue car? Can they give the cup to Daddy?

3 year olds can understand 3 words at a time. So they might be able to find the big red hat, the small blue car and give the cup and plate to Daddy.

4 year olds can usually understand 4 words at a time. So can they give the big plate and the cup to Daddy, find the yellow socks and the red shorts.

To help your child understand, meet them where they are:

My child isn't using any words ------ Use 1 word at a time

My child is using 1 or 2 words --------- Use 2-3 words at a time

My child is using 3-4 word phrase ------ Use short sentences

So if your child is using a few single words to talk, try using fewer words when you talk to them and emphasise the key words. Instead of saying "it's time to get dressed now, lets get your socks and your trousers, where is your jumper? Would you like the red t-shirt or the blue t-shirt?" think, 'short and simple'. So you could say "let's get dressed!" or "clothes on". Even better, show them their clothes when you say it so they can see what you mean. Name each item as you dress them - "socks", "socks on", "trousers", "red or blue t-shirt?" Leave pauses between what you say to give your child time to process what you have said.

Top Tip 3: Talk about what your child is doing

Children are very self focused! This means they are interested in what THEY are interested in, not necessarily what you are or what you think they should be! The best way to boost their talking skills is to talk about what matters to them. This means paying attention to what they like. What do they like to play with? What do they like to look at when you go out for a walk? What are they drawn to? Do they love animals or do they love to play rough and tumble games. Whatever they are into, children learn the words for the things that matter to them. So a sure fire way to help them learn more words and expand on their language is to talk about what they are doing.

So if they are playing with their cars, comment like you would a football match. Say "the car is driving!", "uhoh it's going to crash", "over the bridge", "fast car", "brrm brrm". Do you notice there are no questions in this example! Children are much more likely to learn the words for the things that they are playing with if you give them the words, rather than asking them questions about what they are doing. Asking lots of questions can sometimes make a child feel like they are being tested and they might not answer. Its important to leave pauses between your comments to allow time for your child to respond.

Try having 5 minutes of 'special time' play with your child every day or as many days of the week as you can manage. In this time, put out a few toys your child usually likes to play with and try out these top tips. See what happens when you talk about what they are doing and commentate. Do they engage with you more? Do they copy any of the sounds you make or words and phrases you use? Do they stay and play with you longer because you are letting them decide what to do with the toys rather than focusing on asking them questions or directing their play? Give it a go and let me know how you get on in the comments.

Carrie