Communication

Children love chatting and often ask lots of questions. They are able to listen and understand more, they are often keen to share their ideas with others. At this age your child will be developing a strong sense of independence. They will be socialising mainly with children around their same age and building new relationships and friendships. They begin to use their communication and language skills to help them learn. They can use language in a range of ways and are able to tell you what they like and don’t like and give reasons.

Songs and rhyme make talking time

Singing songs and rhymes together helps early language development.

Singing with your child is a great way for them to hear lots of speech sounds and words.

Hints and tips

  • You may not be a pop star, but your child loves to hear your voice the most.
  • Your child loves to hear the same songs over and over again.
  • Make singing fun for them by using lots of actions and different voices.
  • Your child loves it when you make up your own songs based on the things they like.
  • It’s fun to make free musical instruments out of everyday objects like saucepans and spoons or plastic bottles filled with dry pasta or rice.

Sow the seed to read

Reading stories together from birth helps your child’s brain grow.

Looking at books together is fun and a great way for your child to develop new words.

Hints and tips

  • Look at the pictures in books and talk to your child about what you can see.
  • Children love to hear their favourite stories over and over again.
  • Share bedtime stories with your child, this helps them to relax and they love the extra cuddles.
  • Encourage your child to turn the pages and point to the things they recognise. Help them learn the names of things in the book.
  • Borrow free books from the local library or Family Hub.

Switch off to switch them on

Limit TV and screen time to give children chance to communicate.

Turning off the TV and other devices will help your child to learn to listen and pay attention.

Hints and tips

  • It is easier for your child to talk and play if you switch the TV off and reduce background noise.
  • Choose a few TV programmes for to you watch together and talk to your chiild about what is happening.
  • Take care to choose the right kind of programme or game for your child’s age.
  • The best way for your child to learn is by playing and talking with you. You are better than any device.
  • When you are out and about, talk about what you can see and what you are doing.
  • When your child gets home from nursery, talk to them about what they have done, rather than watching TV or using devices.
  • Turn the TV off if no-one is watching it. Constant background noise can slow your child’s language development.

Learning first words

What will your baby’s first word be? Well, if it’s not ‘Mama’ and it’s not ‘Dada’, don’t be upset! Some words are easier than others! Most babies say their first words at around a year old. They usually say words they hear a lot often names of people or things they see a lot. Whatever your baby's first words are they may not say them correctly straight away and you and your family may understand them better than people they do not spend as much time with.

Scientists have shown that toddlers learn the names of objects best when they can hold them in their hands and look at them closely. Hearing the same word repeated four times helps babies remember new words. Try taking your toddler to new places, where they’ll hear words they wouldn’t hear at home. And even if they don’t say words right, just respond to what they say and say the right word back to them. It really is that simple!

Developing sentences

As your child learns more and more words they will begin to join them together to make simple phrases and then full sentences. As your child is learning to do this, they may not form sentences in the way we do as adults. You can help them by ‘re-casting’ this means repeating the sentence you think your child is trying to say back to them correctly. This doesn't mean saying 'no, that's not right', or drawing attention to their error, but just saying the sentence back to them as it should be said. So for example, if they rolled a ball down a slide and said 'ball go down', you might say 'yes, the ball goes down the slide when you drop it.'

Emotional literacy

Emotional literacy is the ability to understand, express and cope with emotions. It’s a skill that children will develop as they grow, but can also be nurtured throughout childhood. Encourage open conversation about feelings at home, ensure that talking about feelings is a normal part of everyday life and encourage your child to talk about their own feelings. You may need to support them to do this, through labelling their emotions and then asking if they want to talk about it. There are lots of ways to help your child develop in this area.

  • Label emotions – for example you could say “you seem so excited”
  • Use games to explore emotions - you could ask children to link facial expressions to emotions, this helps children recognise and label emotions.
  • Help them express themselves - talk to children about how to express their emotions in an appropriate way.
  • Help them to manage emotions - teach your children ways they can cope with difficult emotions.

When to seek advice

If you have concerns about your child's communication and language development you can: visit a Family hub, contact your health visitor, contact the Stoke-on-Trent Visiting HUB (0300 303 3298), contact 'ChatHealth' text 07312277161, speak to your GP or visit Staffordshire and Stoke speech, language and communication journey.

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Communication

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