Between age 1 and 3, most children advance from reflex-based crying to fully developed sentences. Parents and caregivers may find speech development to be among the most rewarding and fulfilling challenges associated with raising a child. The U.S. National Institutes of Health note that, except in special circumstances, children generally learn to speak without specialized attention. Nevertheless, parents can encourage their children's language development.
Fostering Early Speech Development
Step 1
Communicate with your child regularly from the moment she is born. The National Institutes of Health note that children experience a critical period of language development in early infancy, beginning long before they can utter their first words. Describe people, objects, places and events. Your child will begin to discern intonations, phonemes and individual voices; this lays the framework for future speech development.
Step 2
Encourage your child to babble by responding to his "speech" with enthusiasm. NIH notes that children generally begin babbling at around 6 months (this is also when they gain the ability to distinguish individual consonant sounds). When your infant repeats a sound such as "guh, guh, guh," respond by smiling at him and joining the conversation. If he accidentally stumbles upon a word like "mama," encourage him to associate the sound with the person or object he has described.
Step 3
Read to your child daily. Point to pictures that correspond with the words in the book; demonstrate their relationship with objects in your child's day-to-day life. A toddler may be able to "fill in the blanks" in familiar books. To engage in this enjoyable exercise, pause and wait for your child to say the missing word. Reading can increase a child's vocabulary and expand her ability to comprehend basic grammar skills.
Step 4
Ask your child questions and give him the opportunity to respond. Most older babies and toddlers can point appropriately when asked questions like "Where's the dog?" Ask your toddler to describe an object's size, color or shape. As your child's language blossoms during the preschool years, she will begin to describe events that take place during the course of the day. Ensure that your child has a willing audience---do not interrupt her or ignore her.
Step 5
Consult your child's pediatrician or a speech pathologist if he seems to struggle with speech development or if he consistently fails to reach average language milestones. The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that as many as one in five children will experience a speech delay; fortunately, many of these situations improve with proper treatment. Language delays may be caused by a number of conditions, including deafness, dyslexia and autism spectrum disorders. Children with these disorders require special education.
Things You'll Need
- Children's books
