Choosing the Right Toys to Promote Your Child’s Language Development: Part 2
With the holiday’s approaching, you may be looking for gift ideas for your little ones, or it may just be time to revamp the toy shelves. Parents often askwhich toys will help their child’s speech and language skills develop. Flash cards?… Baby Einstein?…Wi?
In Part 1 of this blog, we talked about principles to consider when choosing the right toys for your child. In Part 2, I’m excited to share 5 favorite “go-to” toys to encourage speech and language skills in toddlers. Keep in mind that every child is unique, including their developmental level and personal interests. And no matter which toy you choose, the most important contributor to promoting your child’s speech and language, is one-on-one time with caregivers and loved ones!
5 Great Picks To Promote Speech in Children
1. Fisher-Price Little People Animal Sounds Farm This activity encourages “make-believe” play as children bring each animal to life. Imitating animal sounds (e.g. moo-moo, neigh-neigh) is a great way to develop speech sounds while having fun. This activity also lends itself to following directions, playing with others, and learning about location concepts (e.g. in, on, under).
2. Barn Yard Bingo Barn Yard Bingo is an excellent way to encourage turn-taking skills. This activity also promotes labeling animals and colors, matching, and speech sound development. You can facilitate and encourage turn-taking (e.g. “It’s your turn!… my turn!”) while naming animals or imitating animal sounds (e.g. “cow says moo!”).
3. Basic Vocabulary Picture Books, such as Baby Einstein’s “First Words” Books are a great way to build your child’s vocabulary and develop early literacy skills. For infants and toddlers, choose books with large and simple pictures, and avoid books that are too visually distracting. Practice identifying and labeling pictures (e.g. “Where’s ball?… there it is!”), and answering questions about each picture.
4. Melissa & Doug Pretend Food Pretend picnic foods are a great way to encourage pretend-play and social interactions. Your child can build vocabulary and learn basic categories while they plan a picnic with family members or friends.
5. Play-Doh Play-doh (or any molding clay) is an excellent activity to foster creativity and ideation. There are many ways to enjoy play-doh, whether it’s making different shapes, or creating a pretend-picnic. This activity encourages interactions with others, cooperation, pretend play, and vocabulary building. **Children should be carefully monitored while playing with play-doh, as many children enjoy mouthing/swallowing it.
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