Nursery child playing with a teacher in classroom

Learning to Talk

At around one year old, your toddler will begin to understand that certain sounds have certain meanings, and begin to use their first single words (as against sounds such as ‘ma-ma’ or ‘da-da’). Their new words may not be clear, or exactly as you say them, so repeat the word to them correctly. Don’t correct them or say, “No that’s wrong.” Just repeat the word, or words, again to model the way they should be said. Doing this in a positive way will help them learn.

All toddlers go through a stage of pointing to objects they want. Don’t question them, but say the word clearly to describe what they are pointing to.

Evening family reading, father reads to children

Repeat a word in 3 different sentences:

“Mummy will give you the juice.”

“The juice is in the fridge.”

“Mummy will put the juice in a cup.”

Talk about the different colours and objects they are playing with, repeat each word by emphasising in three sentences:

“Mummy will give you the block.”

“The block is on the floor.”

“The block is red.”

When you sing songs or nursery rhymes with your toddler, use plenty of actions to illustrate what you are singing. This will help your child link the word to its meaning.

Don’t ask them questions like “What do you want to wear?” as learning to make decisions is difficult for a toddler and this confuses them. Instead, give them a choice of two items, this one or that one. e.g. “Do you want to wear the yellow tee shirt or the red one?”

When you sing songs or nursery rhymes with your toddler, use plenty of actions to illustrate what you are singing. This will help your child link the word to its meaning.

How do I know if my child has a speech or hearing problem?

  • If by 12 months they don’t say ‘ma- ma, da-da’ and make lots of different sounds, chuckle and screech, or does not show signs of recognising the fact you are talking to them.
  • If by 18 months they don’t point to 5-10 objects or persons when these are named by the parents, or don’t have at least 6 clearly understood words in their vocabulary to indicate their needs or describe things, or if they constantly drool.
  • If by 2 years they don’t have at least 25 words that are clearly understood and are unable to point to parts of the body when named (e.g. nose), are unable to put 2 or more words together (e.g. “Mummy up”) or can’t follow simple instructions (e.g. “Where’s daddy?”).
Nursery children playing with teacher in classroom
  • If by 3 years their language is still hard for people outside the family to understand, they don’t yet use 3 word sentences, or they don’t understand action words or follow 2 step directions (e.g. “Get your socks and bring them to mummy.”)
  • If at any time they seem to be going backwards in their speech or language development.

What can I do?

  • Ask your Child and Family Health Nurse to check your child. She may refer you to a speech pathologist and/or suggest a hearing test.
  • Your child may have had a hearing test soon after birth. Even though they passed that test, this does not mean they cannot develop a hearing problem later in life.

Reference:

Parenting and Child Health. Milestones: children 0-4 years.

Adelaide: Women's and Children's Health Network; 2015 [Accessed 2015 March 3]. Available from www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=114&np=122&id=1906

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