A child’s first word is like music to the ears. Once your toddler utters his first word, another toddler development milestone begins. It is through language where your toddler can explore and discover the things beyond his little world. Your child’s brain is hereditary designed to absorb and learn language and as a parent, it is your responsibility to encourage speech development.

Think about it, your adorable tot may not know how to tie his shoes yet he can rattle off different words and can even carry a conversation like a young adult. Your toddler’s ability to grasp words and retain them on his mind is very strong. There are different easy yet useful techniques that can help improve your toddler’s verbal skills. You can try out these exercises for speedy toddler language development.

Read Aloud

At an early age, you start reading books to your child whether during his playtime or bedtime. Reading to your child is a very effective method to enhance speech centers in the brain to promote his language. Together with your tot, constantly read aloud in a clear and slow manner. See to it that you deliver every line in the book vividly. You can even try acting to make the story more alive allowing your child to interact with you. After every book you read him, make it a point to ask him questions. Start off by asking him his favorite scene or character, the moral lesson of the story or scenes that confused him. By doing this, your child can actively react.

Cut Down Baby Talks

Baby talks are for babies. Once your child hits the toddler phase, it is recommended that you minimize baby talks. Save it for cuddle time moments. In order to boost your toddler’s verbal communication, treat him like an intelligent and mature person. Converse with your child using clear and simple words and in complete sentences. Ask him about his day, his opinion with the things going on around him or the activities he wants to do tomorrow. Listen with full interest and this will encourage him to talk more. Repeat the words he utters to help improve his grammar and pronunciation.

Always Sing Together

Singing is another excellent method for developing your toddler’s words. Sing along to his favorite nursery rhymes and songs. Incorporate it with body movements to make it more fun. Once he has mastered them, introduce him to different songs. After which, you can try letting him fill in the blanks the missing words in the songs.

Inject More Words

When your child says “That is a car.”, repeat his words and add more words to it by saying “That is a bright shiny red car.” If he wants something, say for example he is thirsty, when he says water repeat it and say “Water, please.”. Reiterating and enhancing your child’s words and simple sentences can effectively stretch his vocabulary.

Make Up Your Own Stories

Your child’s imagination runs wild during the toddler stage. Take advantage of his creative mind by creating your own stories. Say for example you were out the whole morning and you went to the zoo and the park. Make up a story about your little adventure. You may start the topic and after a sentence, let him carry on with it. Even if what he says does not make sense, ride along with him. This provides your child confidence that gives him the idea that anything he says is important.

Repeat Words

Repetition is the key to boosting your toddler’s language skills. When talking to your tot, go over with the sentence you just said. Say the words one by one. Exaggerate your pronunciation if you need to in order for your child to catch the words correctly.

Place A Picture For Every Object

Toddlers identify with pictures most. Label basic things like a table, chair, teddy bear, spoon, fork, shoes, an apple or an orange with colorful images. Let your child say the name of every object and always cheer him for every correct word he utters. Once he gets the hang of it, move on to flash cards in different categories.

There are a number of simple ways that can effectively hone your child’s language development. Just be patient and guide him every step of the way. Always interact and play with him many times in a day and before you know it, you have an adorable chatterbox that loves to engage in conversations with different people.