I hear SO MANY people missing the teaching opportunity by saying "good boy" or "good girl". If this is you - don't be offended! I can FEEL the excitement of parents when their little one starts talking, and they want it to keep happening so badly that they praise their little one. Praise keeps the behaviour happening, right?!

In reality - when you praise your little one for talking, you're missing a teaching opportunity. Learning to communicate is motivating enough for children as suddenly then can make themselves understood. Being responded to makes them want to talk more and more, so make your response a teaching one!

HOW: Instead of praising your little for talking, say what they said and ADD A WORD. This teaches them the next step. In this example, the child says "up" and the parent says "up high!". The parent is teaching the next step, so when the child is ready to start putting words together, they know what to say.

Your tone of voice and repeating the word is enough to show your child that they're correct, you understood and you want to teach them further. This ADD A WORD rule works for ANYTHING your child says to you. There's always a way to expand on what your child says. E.g. Child: "my car", Adult: "here's my car". You're speaking as if you are your child and showing them what they can say next time.

Are you capturing the teaching opportunities when your child talks?