Ways to Communicate
Talking to one another is only one of many ways to communicate. When children are first learning language it is important to expose them to multiple avenues of communication to further develop their brain and ultimately help to communicate better and faster.
Talking
First and foremost, talk. Talk about everything all the time. Narrate your day to your little one. Use small sentences that really emphasize the point rather than describe things in great detail.
For Example:
Good Morning Baby! Time to eat, let’s go eat. Baby’s breakfast. Mama’s breakfast.
Versus
Good Morning Baby! It’s time to get up. We are going to get dressed and have some breakfast. Mama’s making some scrambled eggs for us today.
The first sentence highlights the big important words you want your baby to be focusing on. It’s an adjustment learning to narrate your life in this way, but it is a skill that can be practiced and soon it will feel natural.
Baby Sign
In recently years baby sign has been growing in main stream popularity. Baby sign refers to simplified American Sign Language (ASL). The concept is that it is so easy, and doesn’t require high fine motor skills or dexterity so that, you guessed it, a baby can do it. We recommend combining talking with baby sign when your baby is around 6 months old. You can start with common and easy signs such as “milk”, “mom”, “dad”. As your baby gets a little old and starts signing you can pick up more signs such as “eat”, “more”, “water”, “all done”, or even specific foods such as “banana”.
Body Language
So much of what we communicate to one another isn’t what we say but how we say it. This means using an interesting and engaging tone of voice when you are trying to catch the attention of your little one. It also means using your body to further communicate the point. Be exaggerated. Children will learn to use their body to communicate by watching how you do it. When you are excited - clap, or raise your arms in the air to cheer. Before bed - yawn and stretch.
Facial Expressions
Don’t forget to use your face. Exaggerate facial expressions so your little one can clearly see them, attach them to the appropriate feelings or situations, and learn to replicate them. This is really important when you start to teach your child about expressing their emotions. Toddlers often don’t have the vocabulary to tell you how they are feeling, but they absolutely will show you with their face, body, and actions.
Pictures
Sometimes we use pictures to help bridge communication gaps between parents and kiddos. This can be necessary for a variety of reasons. If you find that your kiddo is having a really hard time telling you what they want, consider using a picture that they can point to or give you. Usually when we don’t understand our children we ask them to “show us” what they are talking about. If your kiddo is trying to ask to go to the playground, that’s pretty difficult to show to someone without the aid of a picture. The key to this is first defining the pictures, children aren’t always able to identify the significance of random pictures. Just because you show them a picture of a random playground, they may not automatically connect that it is intended to relate to their desired playground. So, an pictures used need to first be introduced in companion with whatever the picture is representing.
Multiple Languages
Contrary to popular belief learning two languages at the same time does not negatively impact a child’s ability to communicate. In fact it usually does the opposite. Children’s brains are little sponges and are ready to learn. It is common for children to pick and choose the easiest pieces of each language and mix them together at first, but this usually irons itself out.
Updated: 06/2024
