Language Development Activities for Toddlers

With your child going from their first “Mamma” to stringing together the perfect (broken) first sentence, there’s a lot that goes uncommunicated. And if there’s one thing we’ve all learnt, it is - communication is key! Language development supports many other aspects of development, like cognitive, social and literacy development, and it’s important to tap into it when they’re super young! Here are some activities that can ensure better language skills, while doubling up as a bonding game time session!

1. Play the Telephone Game

A catchy toy telephone and a conversation starter is all you need for this activity. Teach them how to say ‘Hello’ and answer regular everyday questions can help your child develop good phone etiquette and improve their speaking skills.

2. Play ‘Name the Thing’

A very regular activity that most parents would anyway do, is playing ‘Name the Thing’. Multiple variations of this can be played, from colours to body parts and abstract things around the house. This is an easy way to build and improve their vocabulary, while making them more aware of their surroundings.

3. Speaking in Complete Sentences

‘Baby talking’ can come to most of us quite naturally, I mean look at those adorable faces, but speaking in well formed sentences early on can actually give them a good idea of how sentence construction works.

4. Reading Together.

Reading does not necessarily mean paragraphs out of a bed-time story. Glancing at picture books and going through flash cards can be equally informative!

Flash Cards especially allow children to associate a known word with it´s foreign language counterpart. When you show them both the images and the words, they create links in their brains which help them identify that object every time they see it.

We offer a wide range of Flash Cards for you to help your child pick up new words and learn more - about everything!

5. Stressing on the Details

Using descriptive words and adjectives regularly in conversations can help build your child’s vocabulary while developing their observation skills simultaneously!

6. Multi-lingual speakers in the house!

It is so important for kids to be in touch with their mother tongue. These days, parents are so focused on teaching English as a language that kids are having a hard time understanding words from their native language. It’s never too early to start introducing multiple languages, and knowing a language will only be an asset!

Not to forget, your child will mimic and learn from you, so it is important that you practice good grammar, correct pronunciations and speak as clearly as possible to help them pick up on words.