How To Increase Language At Home

Watching your children grow and learn to talk is such an amazing experience. Children develop and learn more about language every day during each conversation they are a part of. These language opportunities can be as simple as meal time, diaper changes, family gatherings, and during playtime. While these familiar activities can seem to be tedious to an adult, those moments can be abundant with language and provide a chance to immerse your child with different vocabulary and build their newly developing language skills. Here are some ways to cultivate a language rich environment in your home during those everyday routines.
Expand on story time with your child by choosing a variety of different books.
-Describe the pictures as you read the story and ask questions about what you’re looking at to provide a more elaborate language opportunity.
-When a novel vocabulary word is presented in the book, emphasize the word and attempt to use that new vocabulary word in other routines so your child can hear it in a variety of ways. An example from a book could be: “The tree was enormous” and then use the enormous while at the park “That slide is enormous” or driving in the car “Wow the blue truck next to us is enormous.”
-Another fun way to get your child involved in story time is to ask them to create their own story based on the pictures. This can be done with a familiar book and have your child attempt to retell the story and sequence the events. Or this can also be done with new books and your child uses their imagination to develop their very own storyline. Reading with your children can be a crucial opportunity to help develop your child’s language skills.
Follow your child’s lead during routines.
Another way to increase language skills at home is to follow your child’s lead during those daily tasks like snack time or getting dressed in the morning.
-Giving your child some control of their routine can not only build confidence but also independence. Following their initiation in play-based activities gives you the opportunity to broaden their language too. If your child says “more” you can expand their statement by saying “Oh you want more blocks to build your tower.” This is an extra chance to incorporate those new vocabulary words as well!
-While playing, you can also attempt to set up your child’s environment in a way they will need to communicate with you to gain access to certain items whether that is through AAC, sign language, words or gestures. This can be done by placing a toy or two just out of reach or inside of a closed bin, this encourages your child to ask for assistance and build their communication skills.
-As the parent, you can also label the desired item(s), describe the location of the item(s), and talk about how your child might incorporate the toy into their play once they have access to it, or present an opportunity to join them in playtime. When labeling items in your child’s environment, attempt to sportscast your actions, “I’m going to pretend my dinosaur is getting a drink from the pond” or “It’s time to chop the carrot so we can add it to the pan” and provide them vocabulary at their request such as when they point to a person, place, or thing. For example, you might say, “Yes, that’s a blue car.” or “Wow, you see three clouds in the sky!” This allows your child to better understand how language might be used in their environment.
Give some wait time.
Being patient can allow more possibilities for your child to formulate a statement and communicate their wants and needs before you assume or answer for them. Including them in conversations, family discussions or social interactions allows your child to watch you and how you might engage with others, specifically the back-and-forth nature of a conversation to reinforce appropriate conversational turn-taking skills.
Other simple ways to increase language opportunities for your child may include:
-painting a picture in their minds by using lots of details and describing items and events whenever they can
-be present by minimizing distractions and technology,
-rotate your child’s toys or lessen the number of toys they have access to maximize creativity,
-sing songs that are familiar to your child and pause during parts of the song to encourage your child to fill in the blank
– tell stories with a beginning, middle and end to emphasize sequencing information about their day,
-listen to your children’s thoughts and stories and make comments or ask questions to better understand when they are finished if you need further explanations, most importantly HAVE FUN!
Emily has been a practicing speech pathologist for over two years. She completed both her undergraduate and graduate degrees at Arizona State University. She works with a variety of clients from birth to adulthood. Her specialized skills include feeding therapy, school-age children, and adults that need support with their communication skills.