Incorporate Language in Daily Activities!

There are opportunities throughout the day where you can incorporate language.

☕️Snack Time: Motivate your toddler to request for more of their favorite snack by only placing a small portion of it in front of them (ex. A few pieces of goldfish). Provide verbal model “more” + gesture. You can tell them “you want more”. Model “want more” or “I want more”. ?

☕️Bath Time: Narrate your toddler’s actions (i.e. “splash splash”, “wash”). Play with the bath toys (“boat…weeee”, “water”, “boat on top”, “fast”, “bubbles”). Expand these words/phrases as your toddler begins to combine words.  You can check out my post “Language Expression Milestones” for more specifics on how many words are expected at what age. ?

☕️Story Time: Provide options of 2 books for your child to choose from (“do you want ‘Farm’ or ‘Cars’?”. Encourage them to point to their choice (use hand over hand as needed). If they point independently, provide a verbal model “Farm” or “you want Farm”. It is always important to offer choices (to increase your toddler’s sense of control) and to encourage follow through of structured activities. ?

☕️Brushing Teeth/Getting Dressed: The mirror provides opportunities to be silly with your child. Make silly faces/imitate each other’s actions. Again, narrate actions “brush brush”, “ooh water”, “put on [pants]”. Time permitting, provide options for shirts/pants and let them choose ?. ???

☕️For the parents: I know it gets hectic and busy at home, especially for those who work full time. There are so many opportunities to promote rich speech/language skills throughout the day, even if you don’t sit down and play for extended periods of time. 🙂 Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any specific questions!