ENCOURAGING LANGUAGE

Besides speaking correctly to your little one, there are many ways you can encourage language development. Speech therapist Corli Hanekom shares her top tips.

PLAY Through play, your child learns about the things, noises and people around her. Language stimulation is heightened when you play with your child, plus it’s great fun.

IMITATE For example, when your child says “eee” when they want milk – you repeat the noise (imitation) and then say “milk bottle”. They now hear the correct word even though they can’t say it yet. The more your child hears the correct word, the more likely it will be that they will say the word.

EXPAND When your child points to a certain toy they want, like a car, you can say, “That is a car,” and you repeat this a few times so that they hear the correct word often. It is important to repeat the words and short sentences such as, “Yes, it is a red car,” or “A car goes brrrrrrm.” MODEL If your child says something that is not correct, like, “Daddy give me sweet,” then you say ,“Yes, Daddy gave you a sweet,” which is the correct way of saying what your child wanted to say. FORCED ALTERNATIVES When your child points to two things, like milk and a biscuit, you ask her “Do you want milk or a biscuit?” Get them to say what they want by choosing an option. ●