Communication Development
Strategies to support your child's communication development within their everyday routines and play.
On the Blog...
How to teach your toddler to count
Some children learn to to count when they're 1, some take a little longer and count when they're closer to 5. As with all milestones, there's huge variation, but what...
Say it back 3 times
You HAVE to make yourself sound like a weirdo if you want to support your child's communication. Why?! Because sounding weird makes your little one TUNE IN to what you're...
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...
Why you should teach 'more'
When your little one can sign or say "more", the world is their oyster. They'll be able to request more of anything: think food, toys, stories or cuddles, and you'll...
Say and Sign before you do
Here's the thing. If your toddler cries at your feet and you just pick them up, then they learn that 'crying at mums feet gets me picked up', so they'll...
Don't say 'Say'
Think about it - when you ask your little one to "say_______" You're just teaching them the art of imitation. So whilst they might imitate you when you say "say...
Talking Tip: Hold things up to your mouth
An oldie but a goodie.If you're showing your baby something new - hold it up to the side of your face, close to your mouth. This way - you've drawn...
Teaching new vocab: Pull
Babies learn the meaning of new words by us modelling (saying) them in context (in the place where they fit) and by using lots of repetition. We can't expect children...
Speak Normally
I'm not sure why we all started talking in the third person to our children but I'm here to tell you that you don't have to! And it's better not...
Flash Card: True or false?
I will NOT be using flashcards. Not only are they super unnatural (are YOU ever shown cards and forced to shout out what you see on them?!) but they’re just...
What counts as a first word?
More than you think! A first word is something that your child says intentionally, the same way every time and consistently - to get or communicate what they want. E.g....
Sing to Learn
Nursery rhymes are EXCELLENT for language development. My Mam's been teaching August a new word a day by singing to him and it's so exciting to see!HOW does it help?...
The Language Development Ladder
Here's how I like to think of language development: It's like a ladder. All children are on this ladder somewhere, even if it's just briefly, and there's things we can...
Help your baby to start talking!
Communication temptations are little purposeful opportunities set up to tempt your baby to show you what they can do! The PAUSE is the most important thing here. You're going to...
Tempt your child to communicate
Create opportunities for your child to initiate an interaction with you by setting up a COMMUNICATION TEMPTATION. Place a favourite toy or snack within view but out of reach, or...
Story Spoons
If you're into bringing stories to life then this is for you! Wooden spoons are cheap, easy to get a hold of and make EXCELLENT story props! So easy for...
Books Alive: The Hungry Caterpillar
Super excited to finally have this finished! I wanted to bring 'The Hungry Caterpillar' to life because it ticks so many boxes for us. August loves the story ✅ He...
Picnic Prattle
Ok - we have a lot of picnics. Even if it's just in the lounge or with play food, we're ALL ABOUT IT. And there's many reasons why. Firstly. Lockdown...
Contain your excitement
Your eyes haven't deceived you. I've just given August all the plastic containers I could find (nope they don't all have lids) and let him go to town. Containers are...
Communication Temptation: Offering Choices
Imagine knowing what you want but not being able to tell anyone! That's often the frustration that faces our little ones and more often than not they're desperate to let...
