Fantastic Four: #4
Let’s conclude my fantastic four ways to enrich, enhance, and boost your child’s developing speech and language skills!
First, a quick review:
And now…..for the fourth one: Use strong body language! I bet you are wondering, “What in the world does she mean by that?” I didn’t say strong body odor, I said strong body language! 
I simply mean that you should use your body language to emphasize your spoken word! Gesture, point, smile, and use eye contact.
Did you know the young babies prefer to look at the human face above all else? The shape and contours of the human face draw the infant’s gaze to yours. Use your eyes to obtain and maintain their attention as much as you can!
Another great way to use body language is to hold your little one close to you when talking to them. This physical touch also engages their developing brain and gets the wiring going in the right direction!
So, that’s it for the fantastic four…super easy,aren’t they? And I’m telling you these go a long way in helping those communication skills become all they can be!!
We’ll talk again soon!
Fantastic Four: #2
Yesterday, we discussed #1 in my fantastic four ways to boost your baby and toddler’s speech and language development. Today, let’s move on to #2…
Read, read, and read some more! Reading is so important on several different levels. Relationally, it helps you build a stronger bond with your little one as you hold them and read to them. Developmentally, it helps expose your child to more language and wire that brain for words and talking! And finally, it’s just fun to do!
Stay tuned tomorrow for #3!
Fantastic Four: #1
I had a blast last night sharing with the Sarasota MOPS group! They were a lively bunch, full of questions and laughter. There were two mommies, in particular, who were very knowledgeable. They offered great additional suggestions to the group about how to enrich your child’s speech and language development! Thank you ladies!
I decided to share my Fantastic Four with the ladies last night. These are simple, everyday, but powerful ways to give a ‘boost’ to those emerging communication skills. Let’s get started today with number one:
Drum roll please….aaaww, you guys know what it is…Talk with your child! Yes, I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it. Talk to and with your baby about everything. Become their narrator and communication partner.
In a book by Drs. Hart and Risely called Meaningful Differences, they share the results of a study about why some children do better in school than others. I think that’s a good question to ask, don’t you? And you know what they found out? There was one variable that was highly correlated to or connected with children who were doing better academically in school. And that variable was the amount of talking the children heard during their first three years of their lives.
Academic success wasn’t correlated with the parents’ educational level or socioeconomic status, it was related to the volume of words the child heard in the formative period of 0 - 3 years!
I’ve talked about this before, but it is worth repeating. This is a simple, natural thing you already do with your child, but now you know to do it more and with intention!
Tomorrow we will talk about #2 of my Fantastic Four! See you then…
Going to a MOPS meeting!
I’m very excited…I’m going to be sharing at a MOPS meeting tonight. I love getting together with mommies and talking about our little ones!
I’m going to be teaching my FANTASTIC FOUR WAYS to enrich your child’s emerging speech and language skills.
Stay tuned tomorrow for number one!!
It’s Finally Here!
I am so excited to announce that my first educational product for parents is now available-YEAH!
This product was born in my mind over ten years ago. As you know, I am passionate about providing helpful and relevant information for parents to help them nurture and enrich their baby or toddler’s developing speech and language skills.
Strong speech and language skills are the foundation for all future learning. Good speech and language skills are critical to your child’s overall development.
If you would like to learn more, please go to babytalkandbeyond!
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!
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!