Early Intervention staff try to protect the health of all children involved in our program. To help us do this, please reschedule your appointment if anyone in your home is ill. Thank you for your help in keeping all kiddos healthy.
With the focus in the media on talking to children to help them prepare for school, I thought re-posting this information would be helpful!
Infants, toddlers and preschoolers need to have parents and caregivers do three simple things to help them learn to read later in life. If you use these three things throughout your daily routines, then they are "guaranteed" to help a child to grow ready to learn in school and to have a desire to read. These three things are TALK, SING, and READ.
This post will focus on tips for talking with a child.
Tune in and talk slowly. Tune in to your child's play, conversation and thoughts. Listen to what your child says, look at him or her, and let them talk. Often our rate of speech is too fast for a young child to follow easily, so SLOW DOWN.
Make talking fun and meaningful. Praise your child for new words used or attempted. If you can figure out what your child is trying to say, give them credit to motivate them to keep trying. Repeat the words back to them so they can hear how they should sound. Don't force your child to display their speech for friends and relatives. Instead, bring up topics with a hint or two and let your child expand or participate if they choose. For example: "We had fun today at the park."
Look at your child and stoop down to your child's eye level. Adults frequently chat with children while completing tasks like dish washing or grocery shopping. This is fine, but your talk will be most helpful if your child can see your face, particularly your mouth, while you speak.
Talk about the here and now. Talk about things as they are taking place or just after they happen, getting your child involved whenever possible. Events in the distant past or future may be more difficult for your child to discuss or understand.
Repeat words often. Pleasant repetition of the same word gives your child many chances to listen, understand, and try to imitate.
Make your voice the center of attention by simplifying the environment. Turn off the television, radio and stereo, and spend a few minutes alone with your young child, away from distractions of older children and other adults. Fun activities include reading books, playing games, blowing bubbles, etc.
Clarify the meaning of your child's speech when it is unclear. If your child says "Uh duh atdide?" while standing at the door pulling on the knob you can say "You want to go outside." This provides a correct model of the intended meaning so your child has a chance to listen to and imitate the words.
Give feedback and expand. Repeat what your child says, correcting incorrect sounds and words or adding new information. For example:
Child: Kitty tree Adult: Yes, the kitty's in the tree.
Child: Come. Adult: OK. I'll come and see.
Use self-talk. Talk about what you are doing. Describe every action, object, etc. Leave some pauses so your child can participate if desired.
Use parallel talk. This is the same thing as self-talk except you are describing and talking about what your child is doing. For example: "Oh, you drew a circle. It's a big, round, red circle. It looks like a ball."
Name and point. Name things for your child. Don't be afraid to point out new words in your child's vocabulary. Remember that children can usually understand more than they can say. Children will choose to say words for things that interest them, so provide a lot of words for them to choose from.
Praise, praise, praise. Make your child feel special! This also means you should be careful not to say anything negative about your child when he is present. Be positive and supportive. This cannot be overdone.
Pick one or two of these tips to try over the next week and then come back for tips for Singing with your child.
