Creating A More Articulate Child
Creating A More Articulate Child
Hearing your children talk those early words is surely a joy. How can you not marvel at the first little “boo” and “da” ? After it starts, we all do what we can to help them learn to become verbal, but is there really anything that we can do to help our babies become more articulate? Of course, speech development is physiological and environmental as well. How you interact with your children will strongly influence the quality of their language development.
While I'm not a medical expert, I've noticed a few things that seem to be consistent in families where children are able to clearly express themselves at an early age. Here are a few tips that can help your child become more articulate.
What You Say Counts
Your child listens to you and what you say all the time. Just watch her, where's her focus? More often than not, you'll probably notice that she's looking at you so its important that you speak as you hope your child eventually will. Do you want your child to be able to pronounce his “r”s? If so, then don't make them sound like W's no matter how cute you think it sounds, in spite of your baby doing so. Your baby is supposed to imitate you, not the opposite, so if you're talking about the “wittle wed wabbit” your child is not going to know to say "little red rabbit”. This isn't to say that you shouldn't repeat back your child's words, it just means to pronounce them correctly.
Always talk clearly and don't be afraid to vary your language. For example, you can say, “will you lift that box? Can you pick it up? Thank you for taking care of the package and raising it from the ground.” This little dialogue allows your child to understand that lift, raising and pick it up are different ways of saying the same thing as is box and package. Think before you speak,”what would an adult think of this statement?” If your answer is why is she talking like that, then you'd best revise your speech.
When You Should Repeat Your Child's Words
When your little guy is just learning to speak and starts saying something like, “Ba, ba, ba, ba.” You can understand that there's a good chance that he's actually saying something that has a “ba” sound related to it. So look around and try to figure what your child may be talking about. He's holding a ball so you can say, “Yes, I see you have a ball.” If he seems happy about it you've probably understood his thought. This helps him to build confidence in his speech, and reinforces the proper pronunciation of ball. Do not say “Oh yes, you have a “ba” because he will be calling balls ba's until someone corrects him or makes fun of him, which does nothing but cause the child to question his speaking abilities. Is that what you want for your little guy?
Back to interpreting “ba”; if your child acts distressed when you say “ba” try again until you get a more positive response. “You are my baby, that is your brother, yes I love you both...” At a minimum, your child hears how his sound can be used in different words and helps him increase his vocabulary.
Make Time For Plenty of Conversation
The most important thing is that you talk with your little one. Get eye contact, listen, and converse. Have fun with it, too. Your baby will learn so much more if you do this. As they get older, don't correct grammar directly. Rather, try to use the correct sentence in a way that demonstrates that you understood what your child said and teaches her the proper dialogue without being negative.
For example, your daughter says, “I like her. Her is nice.” You can follow up with something like, “I like her, too. She is nice.” This way, your child knows you get her thought and demonstrates the proper use of she versus her without making it obvious that you are correcting her. If you do this enough, she'll eventually figure out proper use of the language without harsh and demeaning put downs.
As you spend your time together, getting to know one another and enjoying each others thoughts, you are creating both a family bond and a more articulate child.
| About the Author Mariah Kvesich, a former Congressional Aide and Legislative Director decided to throw in the hat and become a stay-at home mom when her first child was brought onto Earth. Since then, Mariah became mom to three other children (two bio, one step) and experienced life as a housewife, divorced mom, and member of a blended family. "Once you have children, what's important becomes a whole different ball game", Kvesich states. Mariah now works as a free-lance writer who is actively involved in the local schools and loves nothing more than being with her family. |
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Comments
And what a mixed message it sends to your kids to tell them it's cute to talk one way when they're little but tell them it's wrong when they get older.
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