Fostering Language Development in Infants and Toddlers
A few weeks ago, our blog addressed the topic of fostering language and literacy in early childhood and how research shows that these skills are critical for ensuring their later success in school. This blog will dive more deeply into the infant and toddler period and some ways to encourage your child’s development during this time.
Ask any parent and they will most likely tell you that children grow up fast! Often, they find themselves asking “where did the time go?” Somehow it just escapes us. So as difficult and challenging as it is to raise children, we have this window of time to help foster their development. We can capture it, if we try.. It is analogous to building a house. When we build a house, we want to ensure we have a strong foundation. Similarly, with fostering children’s development, the earlier we start, the more enriching the opportunities, we are setting the path to their future.
So what are some things we can do to foster our children’s language and literacy development- from early on, to set them on a positive path? Here are some ideas:
Talk-- Sing.. Play!
When should we start talking or reading to babies? The answer is that it’s really never too soon. We can start as early as possible- even in the womb! There is research that suggests babies are sensitive to sounds they hear in the womb.
In early infancy, start talking to your baby, sing songs and lullabies, and read storybooks. These become opportunities to foster attachment which is one of the most important foundations of your child’s development. Attachment is fostered by forming these connections with your baby. Responding to their cries, for example, teaches a baby that they are worthy, from a very young age. Since they can’t express themselves with language, crying is the only way to get their needs met. Consistent and predictable routines help establish safety and security which also builds on attachment as well. So for example, as a baby’s sleep becomes regulated, setting regular bedtimes and nap times, help foster a sense of security and shared book reading, becomes important here too.
So when you are holding your baby, singing to them, talking to them, smiling at them, these opportunities are so important. Don’t underestimate them. Around 5 months, your infant may begin to babble. These sounds.. Ma ma.. Baa baa…etc. are the foundations of what will later become their language development. Around 12 months or so, when babies start to form words, they also start to play (these things usually happen together) and therefore, you can reinforce their language - so they may point to what they are looking for (a certain toy) - or to their mom (mama) you can name the object/person and this is the beginning of language.
Babies are taking so much in, and there are opportunities or “moments in time” you can take advantage of. For example, when they are big and strong enough to sit in the grocery cart by themselves, use these opportunities to smile at them, talk with them, talk about the food you are buying. They will take it all in! Use everyday moments and opportunities to communicate with them.
As they grow, surround them with plenty of stimulating materials. Let them explore the world around them; books, puzzles, age appropriate toys will help them to learn and explore. But perhaps most importantly, spend time playing and interacting with them around these materials. These are great opportunities to use and reinforce language. Read with them. They may want to read the same books again and and again. This is great (even though perhaps incredibly boring for you ;-). But reading the same books with repeating words can help to foster the development of vocabulary and rhyming and other important early literacy skills. Toddlers tend to have a short attention span so book reading does not need to be a lengthy activity. It could be moments of reading a board book, and these moments will increase over time.
Some relevant references:
https://childmind.org/article/helping-toddlers-expand-their-language-skills/
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2158244016672715
https://mymission.lamission.edu/userdata/mermelrd/docs/NAE33.pdf