Language development for toddlers is important in helping children learn to speak and verbalize their emotions and feelings. Two year olds are busy exploring the world around them and can be encouraged to play a variety of fun yet educational activities that encourage communication skills. At 2 years of age, most children are able to understand up to 300 vocabulary words and create short sentences, says Child Development Info. Helping a child understand directions, create intelligible sentence structure and fluency requires parents or other caregivers to actively engage toddlers in games, speech or activities that enhance listening and speaking skills.
Play Time!
Playing with children is essential for enhancing language skills, states Maria Montessori, writing for the Child Development Institute. Such play is responsible for nearly 75 percent of brain development, she states. Encourage language through play by pointing to objects, stating her name and then encouraging the child to repeat those names. Move the object, and then ask the child to "find the red ball," for example.
Vocabulary Building
At 2 years of age, a child is eager to learn new words, states Dr. Brenda Hussey-Gardener of Parenting to Make a Difference. Encourage children to point out familiar objects around the home, such as the bed, the family pet or the kitchen sink. Or, switch the game around and point to something and ask the toddler to tell you what that object is. Encourage toddlers at 2 years of age to speak rather than point, and to use words and gestures to express themselves.
Rhyming Games
Play rhyming games or sing rhyming songs to help the child increase his vocabulary. Simple nursery songs are ideal and provide fun and new vocabulary for the child. Two-year-olds still have limited attention spans, so choose short and simple rhymes or songs, suggests the National Network for Child Care.
Yes or No
Play games that require the child to reply yes or no to help toddlers differentiate between choices, suggests Lilya Popovetsky, founder of Multilingual Development Agency, Inc. For example, ask your child to choose between juice flavors, and then have baby point to and reaffirm his choice. "Do you want some juice? I have some orange juice. Do you want some orange juice?" are some of the questions you can ask at mealtime, repeating as necessary. Ask silly questions, such as "Can (family dog name) fly?" Play games that require the child to respond with a yes or a no when you point to various body parts. Point to his leg and say, "Is this your arm?" Giggles as well as new vocabulary offer rich rewards to such forms of play.
