Abby Barnes, M.S., CCC-SLP
It’s an exciting milestone when you hear your child’s first words. But once your toddler starts saying “Mama” or “Dada,” what comes next?
There are specific ways you can teach your child to use new words and expand their vocabulary. Here are some easy ways to get your toddler talking even more.
How to teach your child to use nouns
Words for people, places, and things are typically the first types of words that babies learn. Parents and caregivers tend to practice nouns with their children, even though you may not realize it. Think about things you might say to your toddler: “Look at the dog!” or “I see the firetruck!” Think about the types of children’s books you read, too–maybe touch-and-feel books, or lift-a-flap books with pictures of objects to find. These are popular for good reason–babies and toddlers love them!
Learning the names of household items, clothes, animals, toys, and people makes sense for little ones. When you model, or name, the item for your child, they have something they can physically look at. This makes it easier to learn those words. The more you model those words for your child to hear, the more they’ll develop their language skills.
But keep in mind, it’s never too early to help your child learn words other than nouns! As they approach their first birthday and demonstrate more understanding and use of nouns, it’s a good idea to start shifting focus to new types of words.
How to teach your child to use verbs
Verbs, or action words, can be extra fun to teach your child! You can teach verbs while reading books together, doing daily tasks at home, or when you’re out and about.
Here are some useful verbs to consider teaching your child:
Eat
Drink
Run
Walk
Go
Ride
Make
Clean
Fly
Climb
Spin
Swing
Slide
Color
These are just a few examples of verbs that may apply to activities you and your child do together. Model these words for your child as they naturally come up. For example, if your child is walking down the sidewalk, you may say, “We walk! Walk to the park!” If you see a plane flying overhead, you can say, “Look at the plane fly! Fly away, plane!”
Be sure to repeat the word a few times so your child can hear it used. If they don’t imitate the word, that’s OK! Young kids have to hear vocabulary used repeatedly before they start using the new words themself.
How to teach your child to use adjectives
Adjectives are another category of words to work on with your child. Adjectives are words that can be used to describe things, such as colors (blue car, yellow bananas), texture (soft blanket, furry cat), or taste (sweet ice cream, crunchy crackers).
To teach your child to use adjectives, pay attention to what you’re seeing or doing together, and find a way to describe it. Let’s say you’re blowing bubbles. You can talk about the “big” bubble your child popped. If you’re at the playground, tell them they went down the “fast” slide. Again, modeling these words is the key to helping your child learn to use them.
For many kids, understanding concepts like adjectives may not happen until later in toddlerhood. So you may not hear your child use describing words until around 2 years old, or even a bit later.
Teach your child how to use words purposefully
Using more types of words is a huge milestone, and it’s one to celebrate! But language development doesn’t stop at simply knowing or imitating words. Eventually, children take their vocabulary skills to the next level, learning to use their new words in order to request and comment. Think about it like this: A child may easily label their favorite teddy bear as “bear.” But using the word “bear” to ask that you give them the toy is an entirely different use of that word. Learning to use words to request is an important skill for early communicators. There are also types of words called functional words. These are words that enable your child to communicate a need or thought to you. Some examples of functional words are:
Help
Please
More
Stop
Want
Hurt
Yes
No
Eat
Drink
Think about how much your child can tell you by using these words. They can request “more” of their snack, ask for “help” opening a container, or let you know they are “hurt.” It takes some time for kids to learn how to use functional words. Again, you can help by modeling these words yourself. Here’s one way to do it: Pick an activity with a snack, toy, or other item that your child is motivated to request. Then, prompt them to use a word to make that request. For example, if you’re reading a book with your child, pause and wait before you turn each page. Say, “More?” See if your child will repeat after you, or if they’ll say the word when you pause before the next page.
How to teach your child to answer “yes or no” questions
The list of functional words above includes “yes” and “no.” There’s a lot of power in your child being able to answer yes/no questions. How amazing would it be to ask your toddler, “Are you hungry?” or “Are you hurt?” and have them respond! Even if they can't tell you exactly what they want to eat, or how they got hurt, you at least have a starting point for getting them what they need. It can take some time for toddlers to learn how to give yes/no answers. Your child might mix up “yes” or “no” accidentally, or use the same response for every question. Over time, they’ll learn how to answer these questions. Give them some simple ones to start with, then build to more complex questions. For example, you can start off with something like, “Are you wearing shoes?” or “Are you wearing a hat?” These are straightforward questions, and you’ll know if your child is answering correctly. As they get better at these, when you ask a question like, “Are you hurt?,” you can more reliably assume that your child is answering correctly. Toddlers are generally able to answer yes/no questions by age 18 months.
How do you know if your child has a speech delay?
If your toddler isn’t starting to use new types of words over time, it’s important to make sure they don’t have a speech delay. Be sure to reach out to your child’s pediatrician, and consider talking with a speech therapist as well. A speech and language evaluation may be recommended for your toddler. The evaluation will determine whether your child would benefit from speech therapy. It’s important for toddlers to get the support they need to improve their communication abilities. This helps them gain functional skills to use in everyday situations, and it prevents them from falling further behind. At Expressable, you can talk with a licensed speech therapist during a free phone consultation and get your questions answered. Schedule one today!
