Fill them up with Language: Washing Edition
Just LOOK at all the language you can pour into your little one as you do the washing. There's no need to feel guilty when you need to get stuff done - just invite them along and talk as you go!
Every time you involve your baby in something, you're teaching them. Children aren't born with all the language in their heads waiting to come out, they can only learn new language as they hear it. So if you never use words such as 'spinning' around them, they won't learn those words. What seems like a boring adult job to us is an exciting activity to a baby, and if you talk them through the whole thing then you're making it 'language rich'. Language rich just means that it's an activity with lots of language for your little one to listen to and learn from. If you didn't talk, it wouldn't be language rich.
How to:
👗 use 'motherese' or 'parentese'. This is the posh name for when you speak slower, use a higher pitch and lots of tone variation to speak to your baby. It does NOT mean you have to speak like a baby or miss out words in the sentence.
👗 use short phrases. E.g. "Put them in", "Shut the door", "Pour in the washing powder."
👗 repeat repeat repeat. Say the same thing over again. E.g. "Press press press the button!".
👗 make comments, e.g. "You've got my socks!" Instead of questions, e.g."What have you got". Comments teach whereas questions test.
👗 let your baby play a role at every stage in the activity, even if they're only at the stage of holding something.
👗 make eye contact often. Make your face fun - smile!
Are you managing to squeeze in all of this language when you involve your baby in the laundry? Could you say more?
