This content was created for Families Magazine – Gold Coast October/November 2016 | Toddlers & Daycare Issue
As your child’s first and most important teacher you have the biggest impact on your child’s learning. One of the easiest ways to help your child develop is to provide opportunities to practise language, which is linked to school readiness, the ability to express themselves, interact with others, and regulate their own emotions.
The good news is you don’t need to find extra time to support your child’s language development. You can simply weave it into your daily routine and activities. You can steal precious moments to connect with your child as you are dressing them in the morning, sitting at the breakfast table, changing nappies, on the kindy/school run, buckling your child into their pram or putting their shoes on. You can use your morning or afternoon activity time to visit the local library and enjoy some special time with your child to share books together.
Developing Your Child’s Language
Ways to develop your child’s language during daily activities are as simple as:
- Face-to-face talking
- Looking at your baby when they are making babbling noises and copying some of their noises
- Using descriptive words when helping them dress such as; “We are putting your blue socks on.”
- Explaining what you are doing. For example; “We are going into the car now and we will buckle you in.”
- Giving your child words for their feelings. If your child is giggling you can say, “I notice you are watching the puppy and he is making you feel happy.”
- Joining the local library and using this as an activity for your morning or afternoon to share books together. Reading together can be as simple as you following your child’s gaze in a book and talking to them about what they are seeing.
For more activities and ideas visit the City Libraries website www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/library
