10 Ways To Develop Your Child’s Speech At Home

Taking a close look at children, you’ll find that some children seem to speak earlier, better (with a wider vocabulary), or more happily, than other children. You begin to wonder why it’s like that. Why are some perfectly normal children more verbose than others? Is it nature? How about nurture?One thing is certain anyway, there are ways you can manipulate the “nurture” angle in order to make a better speaker out of the child, whether or not he’snaturally gifted . Here, we bring you from “Your Child’s Growing Mind”, 10 characteristics of language building homes. Good luck with them.

1.    1. Child finds adults’ voices pleasant to listen to(at least usually)

2.    2. Children see parents using language to communicate and solve problems.

3   3 .Adults encourage “talking through” situations before taking action.

3.   4.  Parents or care givers share activities and talk about them with each child, and  give frequent praise.

4.    5. Adults respond positively to children’s attempts to communicate. They listen when the child talks, refrain from interrupting, and show pleasure in the child’s use of language.

5.    6.The family does not emphasize silence or submission as signs of being “good”. Children are encouraged to play with words and express feelings verbally and not by making faces or throwing tantrums.

6.     7. Adults create “slots” for children’s participation in family conversations.

7.     8.The child is encouraged to talk about what is happening during play with puzzles, blocks, etc, and to describe what they are doing and thinking.(“Tell me what your block house looks like”. “How is that shape different from this one?”)

8.      9.Adults modify their own talk to the child according to his ability to understand. They also rephrase and expand the child’s speech to teach more advanced forms( Child: “I dooed it”. Adult: “Yes, you did the whole puzzle, didn’t you?” Now would you like to do this one?)

9.    10. Audio books, “talking” picture books, tapes, and other toys which encourage listening skills, are used.Also, picture stories on print or video are used to encourage children to use their own words in making up stories, thereby expanding their speaking ability.