Increasing your child's vocabulary (support, toys, parent, chores)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Reading frequently is great, but also talk to him *a lot*. Try to avoid 'baby talk' and just talk like you would to anyone. The beauty of talking is that you can do it anywhere - in the car, while shopping, while you're doing the dishes, etc..
I absolutely agree with this! I connected a lot with my kids - sat down with them and played with them, not set them down & rush off to do something else while they were "occupied". I'm not very talkative, but I did talk to them, not in baby words, and they both had really large vocabularies. I read to them, too, but I think that real-life interaction was more helpful than anything.
I taught at a preschool, and there were a couple of kids there who were late talkers - it wasn't anything the parents were or weren't doing, it was just how the child was. There was one boy who barely said anything until he was 2 1/2 - then he started talking in complete sentences, using multi-syllabic words, holding conversation. We all joked he was just waiting until he had it down before he tried it!
I wouldn't worry at all, until your child is closer to 3.
we started with our children very early, way before they were even l. just signs like more, mama, daddy, cat, dog. anything to help them learn to communicate. it is so funny to see a small kid communicate with their hands. they know what they are trying to say but of course words just don't come this early.
I started with my son when he was about 4 months but I didn't get a sign back until he was 7 months but he sure knew what three I started with meant when I did them (milk, eat, drink).
Funny thing about human nature though, hands down the one sign he learned the fastest was "MORE" lol.
Mrs. X even though Kudzu and I started very early I do not think it's too late to start sign language with your DS. He will probably learn them much faster at this age and you'll be amazed how much it cuts down on his frustration levels from not being to tell you what he wants.
I started with my son when he was about 4 months but I didn't get a sign back until he was 7 months but he sure knew what three I started with meant when I did them (milk, eat, drink).
Funny thing about human nature though, hands down the one sign he learned the fastest was "MORE" lol.
Mrs. X even though Kudzu and I started very early I do not think it's too late to start sign language with your DS. He will probably learn them much faster at this age and you'll be amazed how much it cuts down on his frustration levels from not being to tell you what he wants.
I think sign language is a wonderful thing we can do together. I will definitely start today and let you guys know how we are coming along.
I'd lighten up, too; no need for flashcards and the like. Just keep with the reading, visit a library, and load up on a wide variety of books. You never really know what will attract your child's fancy; my son's tastes used to come and go, but at that age he liked counting books, anything with pictures of kids or animals, and rhymes. He also liked very colorful stories. Some of the more abbreviated Dr. Seuss books were a big hit, too. And, of course, you don't have to stick with just the words on the page; even if the only word is "two," you can still look at the picture of, say, the two butterflies and talk about them.
I would also continue to write down new words as you hear them. I read that in a language learning book once, and am happy to have done it; it's fun to look back and see how things progressed. Apparently there is normally a language "explosion" once they hit around 50 words (approximately). That was certainly the case for my son; suddenly you hit that magic number and the words come so quickly that you lose count.
Concur! My husband and I have read books to our son every night since the day he was born- a min. of three a night. He has been writing and reading (simple words) now for a few months and he just turned 3 1/2 yrs old. He can write, spell and read words like : exit, Fall, van, fire, bear, dog, cat, hat, door, car, fire, ice, ball, van, woof, ect. I think he is up to about 23words right now. I am so proud of him and he really loves trying to read books back to us picking out the words he knows
Quote:
Originally Posted by NCN
You mean well and your child may go for it, but lighten up.
Go to the library with your child. Let the child pick out the books. Take the 20-30 books home and read them to the child. Your child will likely start reading to you at 4 years old if you read to him every day from birth. Reading should be fun not work. If the child likes a particular book, it is good to read it over and over to the child.
The biggest thing you do not want to do is turn your child off from wanting to read. That is done by making the child listen to a book he does not like. They will have enough required reading when they go to school. Fun is the word for now. Enjoy books together that you both like.
This is also a way for adults to keep up with what is going on in the world. It is hard to read a book without learning something.
We used to have a little saying in the library where I worked. There are no children who do not like to read; they just have not found the right book.
Now my note: I absolutely hate to hear a parent or teacher tell a child this book is too old or too young for you. If the child likes the book and cannot read it yet, then read the book to him, but let him experience any book he is interested in unless you do not approve of the content.
Also, if you have a little boy, he will probably want the books about big trucks. I had a little girl first and we read princess books, so I took home Mother Goose books for my little boy. He was not interested. So I took him with me and we came home with monster trucks and science books. There is nothing wrong with getting craft books too. There are many people who have difficulty every day because they do not know how to follow instructions.
Turn the child loose (while being close by) in the children's section and watch what happens. I love those little inquiring minds.
I can't recommend a book about building vocabularies per se, but my suggestion would be to expose your toddler to as much adult conversation as possible.
I'm a newspaper reporter and my kids went to work with me when they were babies and still come to work on snow days and days when I don't have childcare. It's amazing the vocabularies they've picked up just from hearing adults talk about politics, health care, and the issues of the moment.
Also, I've read to them every night since they were newborns. When they were babies I'd read whatever colorful interesting books sparked their interest (Eric Carle, Dr. Suess, etc.). As they got older I'd let them choose library books, which I'd read to them until they were in first grade and could read to me.
In addition, I've never "talked babytalk" to my kids. I don't use nicknames like baba for bottle and I don't speak to them as if they're idiots who can't understand basic adverbs and adjectives.
See if you can find The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease (sp) Not even sure if he is still alive but his books tell why it is so important to continue to read to our children even after they learn how to read. he is a very wise man and he lists (it is updated frequently) appropriate books by age for children.
I wrote him a fan letter once and he responded with sending me a first edition book. This started a correspondence which lasted at least 15 years.
Reading frequently is great, but also talk to him *a lot*. Try to avoid 'baby talk' and just talk like you would to anyone. The beauty of talking is that you can do it anywhere - in the car, while shopping, while you're doing the dishes, etc..
I did this, mostly because I am a chatty type and I stayed home with him until he was two and a half and I needed someone to talk to. When he took the Stanford Binet when he was six (to get into a magnet program that required testing) his vocabulary score hit the test ceiling. I think it was all the 'conversation' when he was a baby/toddler and we read to him twice a day from the time he was about two months old. We also didn't allow him to watch TV before he turned two. Some studies have indicated that babies and toddlers watching TV can actually hinder vocabulary development.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
