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Speech, Language & Communication development We are all very busy these days but is it so important to make time to talk with your child, some quality time to listen and share. It doesn't cost anything and it needn't take very long. The recognition that it is important is the first step.
Unfortunately, in today's society up to 50% of children start school without the necessary spoken language skills to begin to learn written language. Spoken language skills are the building blocks for almost every educational task. Most teachers report that they have to teach youngsters the basics such as listening which should have been acquired pre-school.
Parents are in the best position to help their children. Don't worry you won't know what to do. Remember you are a successful communicator and it will come easily and naturally. Parents can help their children develop speech and language skills by the following means
Provide a stimulating environment
Read books and sing songs to your child on a daily basis, beginning when
he/she is a baby Introduce any new vocabulary in a meaningful context Speak
directly to your child, giving him/her time to respond Avoid finishing
sentences for your child Provide a stimulating environment Children need
stimulation and providing them with the opportunity to discover and learn
are important. You will help your child by providing ample opportunities for
them to discover hidden talents. This doesn't mean spending a fortune in the
Early Learning Centre or Toys R Us.
Cardboard boxes can become anything from spaceships to houses, pans are
great drums, the garden is always a great exploration area, pouring water
into different pots, playing in the sand pit, making dens out of the dining
room table and a blanket..........
Read to your child
Reading to your child from being a tiny baby is perhaps one of the most
important things you can do. Children's books especially are full of rhymes
and vivid pictures to accompany the words. It is never too young to start
reading to a child. A newborn can appreciate the gently lull of words and
some brightly coloured pictures. It is an opportunity to sit down together
and 'share' the book.
Describe it
Describing what children are doing, seeing and hearing can lead to a lot of
useful language development. Give a simple running commentary on what is
happening.
Sing
Make sure you provide plenty of opportunities for song. Often, much of a
child's first language comes from repeating words or phrases from songs.
When they hear a song, it stands out from all the rest of the language and
sparks certain recognition. They have heard it before and will learn to
repeat it. Use ones with actions for maximum impact e.g.
incy wincy spider, wheels on the bus. There are CDs available if you need
ideas.
Repetition
Children learn through doing. That means repetition. Provide plenty of
opportunity for them to learn through repeating things often. Whether it is
songs, books, words or directions, if you follow a pattern it will become
familiar and when it is familiar they will learn to recognise it and attempt
to repeat it.
Contact with other children
The need to communicate with other children is very strong. When your child
is learning to share they need to develop the ability to communicate their
needs quickly and they will soon learn to put their feelings into words if
they spend enough time around other children.
Take them to playgroups or to the park and encourage them to interact with
others. Often a parent understands their own child and becomes the
interpreter (or sometimes an older sibling), but if the child is mixing with
other children they have more need to try themselves.
What about the TV?
Make sure that the programmes your child is watching is appropriate for
their age and level of understanding. They will not get anything out of
adult programmes or those for older children. Think about how much time they
watch television or DVDs, add up the hours over a week. Are you happy with
the amount? If not what can you do differently? When it's not being actively
watched, turn off the TV as it becomes background noise and will hamper
listening skills which they need to learn.
Play with your child
This gives a great opportunity to add language to situations or extend what
the child is saying e.g. child says 'blue car', you say 'Yes it's a big blue
car' or whatever is relevant to the situation. It's usually possible to add
a word or two to the child's utterance to model better vocabulary or
sentence structure.
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