Sunday 4 October 2015

How do toddlers communicate?

Children at this stage learn very quickly.  At this time, speech really begins.  Your child at this stage will not only be watching you but also trying to copy you or other family members such as siblings and trying things out.

By the time your child is two he will be able to use about 50 words, although they understand much more than they can say and may know as many as 200.

Usual first words include: people or things that they know well, no or bye bye.

After first words, children start joining two words together such as 'all gone'.  They will also maybe look for things or point to them if you say there name as well as follow simple instructions such as 'bring it to me'.

It's really important that we listen to our child's first words so that we can respond appropriately.

So how can we help them?


  • Listen carefully
  • Respond to them
  • Show that we are interested in what they say
  • Talk to them in short sentences
  • Ask simple questions such as 'where's your cup?'
  • Ask them to do simple hings such as 'say goodbye' or to fetch something
They don't need fancy toys either, simple things to play with and develop language and listening skills are:

  • Old mobile phones or similar (as they love to chat and talk).  You can play with them and pretend play
  • Cuddly toys (children usually have quite a few cuddly toys).  Brilliant for pretend play, singing with, using as the main character for a story....the list goes on
  • Boxes.....children love boxes!  Big, small, medium size.  Imagination, creativity, language sills and lots more!
  • Toy cars, farm animals
  • Plastic tea set
  • Posting box for shapes (this is more about praise and encouragement to develop the child's self esteem)
  • Picture books to share stories (they love stories including them)
  • Lots of singing too.....remember it doesn't cost anything and children don't care if you sing out of tune...they don't judge!









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