The Link Between Behavior And Communication
Boy, I got to tell you, these toddlers years are exciting! It’s amazing to watch your little one blossom into a unique personality that’s all their own! Hopefully, it’s a happy hybrid of you and your partner’s best traits…
One of the challenges we face as parents of toddlers is how to handle discipline. As toddlers learn that they are separate entities from their parents, they endeavor to assert themselves more and more. In other words, they can have tantrums, melt-downs, etc., whatever you want to call it!
Did you know that strong speech and language skills in a toddler will help decrease the amount of tantrums they are experiencing? Often times, tantrums arise because of the toddler’s inability to clearly communicate his or her wants or needs.
This is not always the case. Sometimes, toddlers clearly communicate what they want and it’ not something they are going to get at the time, and consequently, a tantrum may show up!
Stay tuned tomorrow for more information and tips regarding the link between behavior and communication in toddlers!
Don’t forget: Get baby-talking!
Why TV Isn’t So Great For Building Language Skills
Yesterday we talked about actively and animatedly responding to our baby or toddler’s attempts at communication with us. We learned that this was called a contingent response. In other words, our response to them is based on their response to us and vice-versa! This teaches your baby turn-taking skills and also helps them learn to sustain their attention.
There has been a lot of news lately about Baby DVD’s and whether or not they are good for your baby or toddler. One of the reasons baby DVD’s and TV in general are not so hot for your little one’s language development is the lack of contingent response.
A DVD or television program is not going to ‘respond’ to a vocalization or word from your baby or toddler. A baby and toddler’s language development is enriched, enhanced, and advanced by the ‘back and forth’ responses of parents and caregivers!
More on TV viewing and child development tomorrow…stay tuned!
And don’t forget…get baby-talking!
Contingent Response
Actively responding to your baby’s communicative attempts (babbling) is a great way to enrich and promote their language development. Scientists call this a ‘contingent response’. Early in their lives, infants attempt to understand language by reading facial expressions and interpreting the tone and cadence of our speech.
This is why it is important that we actively and animatedly respond to our babies and provide them the feedback their little minds are looking for!
Remember to respond with a nice soothing voice, pleasant facial expressions, and gestures to provide impact to what you are saying to them!
Get baby-talking!
Nursery Rhymes
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down, and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after.
Remember how much fun nursery rhymes were when you were little? Well, don’t forget to share them with your little ones. They are a great way to introduce rhyming to them.
What’s so important about rhyming? Check out this article about rhyming to learn all the reasons why it is such an important part of early language development.
http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/1146/Rhyming-an-important-skill-for-literacy-development/
Get baby-talking and rhyming!
Connecting Objects With Words
One of the best ways to strengthen and enrich your toddler’s language is to connect words with objects.
In other words….simply tell your child the names of objects as well as give them a description of it too! And don’t skimp on the description…give them more than they need to know. Details, details, details!
Not only will you be building their language repertoire, but you will help your little one learn to sustain their attention as you identify the object and talk about it.
Get baby-talking!
Life With A Toddler
O.K…I’ve missed a few more days again of blogging! I’ve been rather consumed the past few days with my daughter. She just got over the flu the end of last week. I know she is feeling better, but her behavior is, hmmm, what shall I say…erratic, unpredictable, uh, challenging?
I am trying to discern what might be the remnants of her not feeling well versus she still wants the world to revolve around her like it did last week. Sick or not, toddlers like the world to revolve around them! I really believe what I’m dealing with right now is a combination of the two!
Either way, it’s challenging for me as a mommy. I want to be sensitive to her needs and also not give in to ‘toddler’ behavior. Basically, I just deal with each situation as it arises and try not to project that this is how it’s going to be forever!
One of the things that I am certain of right now in life is that parenting is not for wimps. It requires you to be engaged and on your game pretty much all the time! But it’s more than worth it! Children are our reward!
So, keep your heads up… all you parents of toddlers out there…and know one thing: the toddler years are not forever!
Get baby-talking!
Depression and Childbirth
A study published by the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine in March, 2006 examined whether a mother’s postpartum depression impacted her parenting practices.
The study revealed when mothers are experiencing symptoms of depression after having a baby, they are less likely to do the following with their newborns:
- breastfeed
- play with
- read to
- perform any other interactive parenting tasks
Based upon the list above, one can see that depression affects more than just the mother. Those activites listed above are crucial ways of bonding and enriching your baby’s life.
If you feel you are battling with symptoms of depression after giving birth, do not hesistate to talk to your doctor. Get help. Do it for you and your baby. Post-partum depression is real and it’s not your fault. Don’t let guilt or shame stand in your way. Talk honestly with your doctor and examine your options.
You are worth it and so is your baby.
Get baby-talking!
Simple Practical Advice
It has been quite a roller coaster ride around my house the past couple of weeks. My husband has been battling kidney stones, my daughter had a funky rash and mysterious itching last week, and now she’s battling fever and flu-like symptoms. Its really not been a whole lof of fun around here.
My daughter appears to be on the mend and my husband hasn’t had any flare-ups since Sunday. This is a blessing! Hopefully this explains why blogging had to take a back seat for a while.
But now, I’m back! I wanted to share some advice with you that I’m SURE you are familiar with, but it never hurts to be reminded about a good thing.
Do you know one of the best ways to minimize your familys’ chances of contracting the flu, or any other kind of virus or bacteria? I’ll give you three guesses, but the first two don’t count!
You guessed: Wash your hands…frequently, regularly, often, every other hour, every other minute, every other…O.K., I’m kidding about the every other minute, but really wash your hands frequently.
It’s a simple, mundane thing to do, but extremly beneficial and preventative.
So, get baby-talking and hand-washing!
Organizing Your Baby’s Brain!
“To some extent, the size of a child’s vocabulary shapes the organization of the brain. As children learn to understand and produce more words, the brain becomes more specialized for processing language.”Debra Mills, Developmental Cognitive Neuroscientist
What more reason do you need to keep engaging your baby in communication-rich, language developing activities?
Stay tuned for more great ideas to boost your baby or toddler’s speech and language skills.
Get baby-talking!
The Power of Communication
“That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, joy, set if free.”
Quote by Helen Keller
How often do we take for granted our ability to communicate? Perhaps no other individual could have appreciated more the ability to communicate than the great Helen Keller.
Helen Keller overcame great disability and learned to communicate through the use of sign language. Those gestures became Helen’s conduit to break free from her prison and let light and joy invade her soul. It allowed Helen to communicate her soul to others and let others do so in return.
The power of communication can never be overrated. Whether the mode of communication is the spoken word, sign language, some form of augmentative communication, or the written word, it is simply power in it’s purest form.
This is why I became a speech pathologist. This is why I am passionate about helping our children become the best communicators they can be. Communication unlocks our soul and sets us free.
Be blessed today and you know what I’m going to say:
Get baby-talking!