Summer Time Fun
It’s hard to believe it’s almost June. That means Summer is almost here. The first official day of Summer is June 20th; but for those of us who live in Florida, it feels like Summer long before it’s officially Summer..
Summer is a great time to build wonderful family memories and it’s also a great time to build great language skills! Opportunites abound everywhere!
Your family vacation will be a great experience for you and your little one to discover new things and places to talk about. Be sure to take advantage of the opportunities to point out and label new things for your baby or toddler.
Maybe you are just going to stick close to home and take in the local attractions. The local zoo is wonderful place to take your little one and talk, talk, talk! Name the animals, describe the animals, talk about what they eat, what they are doing, etc!
Whatever your plans are for this summer, make it a great language building time for your little one…you won’t regret it!
Remember: Get baby-talking!
More Listening Fun
Another great way to promote listening skills in your toddler is to expose them to different kinds of fun sounds.
Gather together different kinds of noisy items: a bell, a squeaky dog toy, a whistle, any of your toddler’s toys that make noise, the list is endless!
Sit down with your little one and play the “Noisy Game” with your toddler: Talk about the sound it makes, is it high or low, soft or loud, and let your toddler make the noise.
Your child will grow to love this game and eventually be able to identify the noise being made without seeing the object that’s making it. This is a great listening discrimination skill and it’s just plain fun!
Get baby-talking!
Listen Up!
A child can be taught to be a better listener, even little ones from about 2.5 years of age and up…
One way to do this is through the use of rhyming books. Rhyming is a fun way to play with sounds and teach listening as well. Get a simple rhyming book, perhaps with one pair of rhyming words per page. Read the words slowly and clearly to your toddler and and emphasize the sound that’s different between the pair…i.e. hat and cat!
Your toddler will become quickly tuned in to listening for the next rhyming pair (because they love to hear your voice and have your undivided attention!) and their brain is processing the sound differences between each word! This not only teaches great listening skills, but is a great way to get your child’s brain ready for reading later on in life.
Stay tuned tomorrow for more great ways to strengthen your toddler’s listening skills!
Two Ears and One Mouth
There’s an old saying that says we have two ears but only one mouth; therefore we should listen twice as much as we talk! I’d say this is sound wisdom for all of us!
Listening is an extremly critical skill in learning to talk and in the back and forth process of communication. Listening is not the same as hearing. We are born with hearing, but our listening is developed through practice.
Stay tuned for information about teaching your child to become a better listener!
Let’s Review!
I want to take time today to review with you some really effective ways to boost your baby or toddler’s developing speech and language skills:
- Talk! Yes, you’ve heard me say it before and I’ll say it forever: Talk to them and with them! Yes, even when they are babies and they can’t talk back yet. (They sure will try though!) Your baby’s brain is processing language in amazing ways throughout their first year of life (and beyond) and it’s absolutely essential that they hear lots and lots of it so their brain is super primed for language learning and expression!
- Read! Start reading before your baby is even born. Read to them in your belly. Get into the habit and continue it for the rest of their lives!
- Sing! Babies love music and they particularly love their mommy and daddy’s voices.
- Laugh! Laugh with them and build joy! True joy builds deep and lasting relationships and helps the brain form a firm foundation for life.
Get baby-talking!
Food For Thought
Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
It’s very easy to forget about yourself when you are a parent, particularly when your children are very young and require constant care.
Don’t forget to take some time out for yourself! I’m a big proponent of going to Starbucks, getting a cappuccino, and chilling out! Leisure time is needed to help us unwind and relax.
But you need more than just leisure time… I also want to challenge you to do something that requires you to learn something new. Why I am I suggesting this? Because when we learn something new, we get outside of the daily ‘rut’ of our mind and become sharper, better, smarter, and more engaged.
And guess what? You’ll become a better parent in the process!
So, go take up ballroom dancing (or whatever it is that you’re going to learn!) and get baby-talking!
Happy Mother’s Day
Sometimes as I lie in bed at night and think about my daughter, I get overwhelmed. I start worrying about if I handled everything ‘right’ that day. For example, did I respond to her correctly when I got upset over something? Or did I handle that disciplinary moment appropriately and the thoughts can go on and on and on and the knot in your stomach can grow larger and larger! Ugh…this is not the way to live!
If I plan to get any sleep that evening, I have to tell myself, “Chill out!” Mothers have a tendency to worry about their little ones and anything even remotely related to their little ones.
What is that quote about worry?
“Worry is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do, but doesn’t get you anywhere!”
How true!
With this in mind, I want us to do something for ourselves. I want us to give ourselves a present this coming Mother’s Day. Let’s stop worrying, shall we? Some of you may be saying, “Who me…I don’t worry!” But I have a feeling the overwhelming majority of us are saying, “Uh, o.k….how?”
Well, I’ve learned that worrying is a choice. So, we simply choose not to. Yes, sounds easy, but it is hard to do. But you can do it! When those worrisome thoughts start coming, consciously choose to think about something else. You may find yourself refocusing your mind a hundred times a day; but eventually, if you stick with it,the worry habit will diminish! And you will become a much happier person, and in the long run, a much better mommy!
Ladies, can we commit to stop worrying? I am!
So, here’s to all you wonderful mothers out there: Happy Worry-Free Mother’s Day!
Telephone Talk!
You know what one of my favorite toys was when I was a little girl and my daughter has nearly the identical toy today? The Fisher-Price Classic Chatter Telephone!
Do you remember those? Red, blue and white with the happy little face on the front with the eyes that move around when you pull it by the string? I loved that toy. And my daughter loves hers also. During her ‘rest’ time, I let her play with it and she will chat endlessly. I gave it to her when she was around a year old. And she’s enjoyed it ever since….
A telephone is a great toy for your baby or toddler to play with. It encourages babbling, vocalizing, talking…all those things we want our little ones to do! And an even better idea is for you both to have a phone in hand and talk to each other. This is a great way to encourage even more vocalizing and turn-taking as well!
Of course, there is an endless variety of toy phones out there to choose from, but just make sure you have some kind of telephone for your baby to play with. You will be amazed at what they say or try to say. And of course, they will want to imitate you…so watch what you say!
And remember: Get baby-talking!