Ways to Encourage Communication and Language Development

Communication and language development is about more than talking. It means all the different ways a child understands and communicates, only part of which are spoken words.
 
Communication and language development is important, because speaking is an indicator of fine motor skill development and a reflection of cognitive development.
 
Reading is one of the best ways to encourage communication and language development. As an infant, hearing words and seeing pictures helps a child understand the two are connected. This lays a foundation for speech, which begins around nine months and typically increases as a child grows.
 
Here are a few ideas to encourage communication and language development at different ages:

• Birth: Talk to your infant in a calm, soft voice. Sing songs about what you’re doing.
• 3 months old: Talk to and sing to your baby. Repetition helps a child begin to understand words and actions. He/she will begin to babble and coo at this age, and you should respond to his/her sounds.
• 6 months old: Start reading books, singing songs and saying rhymes. You can also describe what’s going on around you. If your baby babbles, make sure to reply.
• 9 months old: Around this time, a baby will start saying simple words. Continue talking through activities, singing and repeat words to encourage understanding.
• 12 months old: Speech continues to develop and reading encourages an expanding vocabulary. Keep naming people, places and things you see regularly to boost understanding.
• 18 months old: Singing songs and rhymes and matching actions to the words is a fun activity at this age. Create a homemade book of favorite things to read daily and monitor understanding.
• 2 years old: At 2, a toddler typically is able to state short sentences and answer simple yes or no questions. Keeping reading, and ask him/her to point to different objects in each book.
• 3 years old: Ask your child to retell favorite stories and encourage questions. Sing and read.
• 4 years old: Encourage language development by asking your child to tell you a story. Write the story down, then have him/her draw pictures to go with the words.
• 5 years old: Keep reading a variety of books. Encourage him/her to tell longer stories by asking “what happened next?” Play rhyming games.

 
For more information on how to encourage and support a child’s development, visit our Encouraging Healthy Development page.