Talk With Me

Talk with Me - Early Language Services

Posted: April 12, 2021

Skip the Sippy Cup

Cup drinking is an exciting milestone for our little ones.  In fact, pediatricians recommend weaning your baby from the bottle and switching to a cup by 12 months age. 

Drinking from a cup supports appropriate oral motor skill development.  It also supports the development of a mature swallowing pattern.  Transitioning from bottle to cup (for all liquids other than directly from the breast) will allow your baby to exercise her face muscles (lips and jaw), tongue, and soft palate, all of which are connected to speech and feeding. 

However, all cups are not created equal and it’s important to understand the best type of cups to introduce to your little one.  Skip the sippy cups and 360-degree cups altogether.  Use of these cups are not ideal for oral motor development.  Instead, teach your baby to drink from an open cup and straw cup.

OPEN CUP:

  • Start at 6 months of age.
  • Help your baby drink a few sips of water from a small open cup at each meal. 
  • Start small both in size of cup and amount to liquid.  Small cups that hold 1-3 oz are easier for your baby to hold (see EZPZfun.com for an example). 
  • Make sure baby is sitting upright.
  • Bring a small cup with a bit of water to your baby’s mouth.
  • Tip it slightly for only a couple of seconds and then take it away.  This prevents your baby from getting too much water too fast.
  • Say “ahh” in hopes that your baby will try to mimic you and say “ahh”.  This will encourage them to swallow the water so they are able to do so.
  • Once your baby is approximately 9 months of age, he may be able to drink independently from an open cup with minimal spillage.

 STRAW CUP:     

  • Start at 9 months of age.
  • Start by offering a liquid with thicker consistency, like purees or nectar, then move to milk/formula and finally water.  Think liquids are the hardest for babies to swallow safely.
  • Some children initially struggle drinking from a straw.  Here are a few steps to help you teach straw drinking:
  • Take the straw and place the end of the straw into the puree (or liquid) then cover the tip with your finger. This will draw a small amount up into the straw.
  • Place the end of the straw towards your baby’s mouth, but don’t put it in their mouth. Encourage your child to lean toward the straw to independently place their lips on it.       
  • Then slowly release your finger so they receive a tiny sip. This will help your child to have good lip rounding while learning to swallow from the straw.
  • Practice this strategy a few times until you feel your child actively sucking from the straw. Then place the straw back into the cup and encourage your little one to try drinking from it.

Posted: April 6, 2021

Soothers: Pros & Cons

Babies like to suck, so soothers can help calm at bedtime or when your baby is tired or cranky.  But regular and extended use of a soother can create problems with your child’s speech.

Ear infections are more frequent among children who use a soother often.  Studies have indicated that repeated ear infections can significantly affect adequate speech development.

Soothers prevent babies from babbling—an important step in learning to talk, so only use them at set times, like bedtime.

When your baby cries, he is trying to tell you something, so try to find out what is troubling your baby first and use the soother as a last resort.

Remember, learning to talk can be tricky, so toddlers need lots of practice.  A soother will discourage your toddler from chatting with you, which she needs to do to develop her language skills.

If your toddler is still using a soother, always ask him to take it out before you talk to each other.

Try to wean your child away from soothers after six months of age.  Limit use of the soother to sleeping or when baby is really upset.  Understand that the earlier you take away the soother, the easier it will be for baby to adjust.  Ideally, the soother should be eliminated by 18-24 months of age.

Ideas to help wean your child from their soother include:

  • Leave it in the crib for sleep times only.
  • Slowly cut off or put a hole in the tips to reduce suction.  This will make the soother less appealing.
  • Make a clean break—throw away the soother over a weekend, or at a time when you have support.  Most babies and toddlers will fuss for no more than two or three days.
  • Replace the soother with another comfort item like a blanket or stuffed animal.
  • Have the pacifier fairy come take them away!

To find out how other parents helped break the soother habit, visit literacytrust.org.uk/talktoyourbaby/soothertips.html 

Posted: March 29, 2021

Use a Variety of Words

What types of words does your toddler say?  Children typically start to combine 2 words together when speaking between the ages of 18-24 months (e.g., mama up, more cookie, car go, hi doggie, my ball).  However, children need be saying a variety of words before they start combining 2 words together.  Verbs (i.e., action words) are particularly important as children in helping children combine 2 or more words together because every sentence requires a verb (e.g., “I eat cookies”, “The boy is running”, “She fell down”).

During your daily routines, you can help your child expand their vocabulary by:

  • Naming the things your child is looking at, pointing at, holding, etc. (e.g., ball, dog, crackers, car)
  • Using action words for what is happening (e.g., jumping, eating, sleeping)
  • Using descriptive words (e.g., pretty, clean/dirty, big/little, soft/hard)
  • Using pronouns (e.g., my, you, he, she, his, hers)
  • Using social words (e.g., hi, bye, no, all gone)
  • Using location words (e.g., in, on, under, up, down)
  • Describing feelings (e.g., happy, sad, hungry, tired)
  • Using question words (e.g., who, where, what)

Modelling language in this way, will help your little one express themself in many ways.  The more words they use, the easier it will be for them get their wants and needs met.

Posted: March 22, 2021

The Vocabulary Spurt

Posted: March 16, 2021

Functional Language

TALK TIP:  Focus on FUNCTIONAL language before academic language.

FUNCTIONAL language is language that gets your child’s wants and needs met.  This includes nouns, (actions words), descriptive words and core words. 

ACADEMIC language includes letters, numbers, shapes, colors, etc.

When children are first learning words, it is important that they learn a variety of FUNCTIONAL words.  This will help them express their wants and needs as well as have the words they need to help them combine words to form phrases and sentences.

Academic language is important but not until your child has mastered some functional language first.  What is most important is that your child has the functional language they need to communicate with you and others.

Consider your daily routines like mealtime, playtime, getting dressed, etc.  What types of words does your child need during these activities to express his wants and needs?  Are they functional words like, “help, more juice, wash hands” or academic words like, “red, two, circle”?

Posted: March 8, 2021

Phonological Awareness

Phonological Awareness simply means the ability to hear and play with the smaller parts (sounds and syllables) that make up words.  Strong phonological awareness skills are important for reading success.  If children have well developed phonological skills when they begin kindergarten, they have a strong foundation in understanding how sounds and letters in printed words are connected.  Being able to hear the sounds that make up words helps children sound out written words as they begin to read.

Phonological Awareness can be broken down into 6 core skills:

Word Awareness:  Recognizing word boundaries in spoken language (e.g., “He is Sam” is three words).

Syllable Awareness:  Recognizing syllable boundaries in spoken language (e.g., “butterfly” is three syllables).

Segmenting:  Breaking larger oral language units into smaller units (e.g., “bat” to b-a-t).

Phoneme (sound) Identity:  Identifying a particular sound in a word (e.g., “mat” starts with the /m/ sound).  Note: we are referring to sounds, not letter names.

Alliteration Awareness:  Recognizing common sounds across words at the beginning of words (bug, bat), and the end of words (tip, flop).

Blending:  Combining smaller oral language sounds (phonemes) and chunks (syllables) into larger units (e.g., f-r-o-g to “frog” or flow-er to “flower”).

Posted: March 1, 2021

Letter Knowledge

Letter Knowledge is the ability to recognize and name letters (upper and lower case) and produce the sounds they make.  Discriminating between letters (i.e., ‘b’ vs. ‘z’ vs. ‘k’) and knowing the corresponding letter sounds is vital in decoding, visually and verbally.  To read words, children must understand that a word is made up of individual letters.

To help your child develop letter knowledge:

  • Use lots of fun reading and writing activities.
  • Look at talk about different shapes (letters are based on shapes).
  • Talk about letters and how some are similar in shape (e.g., I, H, F, E, T or W, M, N, V).
  • Read ABC books.
  • Point out and names letters in books, signs, and labels.
  • Draw letters in the sand, snow, or shaving cream.
  • Paint letters on paper with brushes.
  • Form letters using play dough.
  • Talk about and draw the letters in your child’s name.
  • Talk about the sounds each letter makes.
  • Sing the Alphabet Song.

Posted: February 24, 2021

Print Awareness

Print awareness develops when a child begins to realize the connection between printed words and language and understanding that printed language has meaning.  It also involves knowing how a book works and that print is organized in a specific way.  For example, knowing that a book has a front cover where we start reading, that we turn the pages as we read until we get to the back cover that indicates the end of the book, and that we read the words on the page from top to bottom and left to right.

Print Awareness is an important pre-reading skill.  Being familiar with printed language helps children feel comfortable with books and understand that print is useful for both information and entertainment.

There are many things you can do to help your child become aware of print, such as:

  • Read every day – both books and print that is in our environment, like labels, signs, and menus.  Print is everywhere!
  • When reading books, have your child hold the book and turn the pages.
  • Point to the words on the page has you say them and follow along with your finger to show your child that we read from the top of the page to the bottom and from left to right.
  • Read the title page.  Talk about the author and the illustrator.  Explain that the author writes the words and the illustrator draws the pictures.
  • Have letter scavenger hunts.

Posted: February 17, 2021

Print Motivation

Print Motivation refers to being interested in and enjoying books.  Introducing children to books early on, so they associate them with positive emotions and are interested in them, is key. You want your child to be curious about print and motivated to learn to read.

There are many ways to we can create positive reading experiences for our little ones:

  • Begin reading books right from birth.
  • Make book sharing time a special time.
  • Create a cozy reading corner.
  • Be positive and happy when reading together.
  • Make reading together FUN!  Use lots of expression.
  • Help books come to life by re-enacting stories using props, etc.
  • Read in front of your child.
  • Share your passion for reading.
  • Make going to the library a fun experience.
  • Allow your child to choose their own books at home and at the library.
  • Choose books about topics that interest your child.
  • Use non-fiction books to help your child learn about the world around them.

The goal is to help your little one have successful experiences with books and other forms of print.  We want them to look forward to spending time with books.

Posted: February 8, 2021

Vocabulary

Vocabulary simply refers to knowing the names of things.   By the time your child enters school, he/she should know between 3,000-5,000 words.  Research shows that children who have larger vocabularies are better readers.  Knowing many words helps children recognize written words and understand what they read.  It is much easier to read a word when it is a word you already know.

 To help your child build strong vocabulary skills:

  • Teach your child the names of things.  Explain the meaning of new words.
  • Talk about what you are doing.
  • Talk about what your child is doing.
  • Talk with your child about what is going on around you.
  • Have lots of conversations with your child.  When the baby babbles or the child talks, listen carefully and answer.
  • Read together every day.  Books use a different vocabulary than casual spoken conversation.
  • Read a variety of books – fiction and nonfiction.
  • When reading, name pictures as you point to them.
  • Use a variety of words.  Children need to know nouns, verbs (actions) prepositions, adjectives, adverbs, etc.

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Building Language Skills With Picture Books
Added: Mon, Aug 17 2020