Books are a great way to develop your child’s language skills and imagination. Here are some tips:
1) Choose a book that is age appropriate
Books with flaps, pop up characters or texture books that the child can feel are great to start with. Toddlers are often attracted by brightly coloured pictures of simple objects. You can choose books with topics that interest them (e.g.: animals).
2) Follow your child’s lead
Children love to be actively involved when reading the book with you. So if your child wants to hold the book and turn the pages, let them have a go. Some children may only look at a few pages and other children may want to look at the entire book. Your child may skip some pages and that is okay. At this stage, it is more important that your child has an enjoyable experience with the book.
3) Talk about the picture
When your child points or looks at something in the book, you can describe what is happening in the picture. Try to follow your child’s interest and use a variety of words to describe (e.g.: use action words to describe that is happening).
4) Wait
After you read a page or talk about a picture, pause and wait for your child. This will give your child an opportunity to say something. Avoid asking questions such as ‘What is this?’ or ‘What colour is this?’
5) Expand the language
When your child says something, you can repeat it or even add a word. For instance, if your child says “bird”, you could say “big bird” or “bird fly”.
Reading to your child as often as possible will help to develop their language. The most important thing is that you and your toddler have fun as you explore the world of books together.
Written by Tasneem Abdul Samad, Speech Pathologist.