Speaking 101: How to Teach Your Child to Talk

Babies are known to make a range of different kinds of noises from the time of birth. There will be a lot of crying, cooing, gurgling, etc. After their baby is born, all parents wait for them to speak their first word. Usually, it's 'mama' or 'dada'.

Their ability to speak their first word is a huge milestone in the lives of parents. However, as they grow older, it is important to teach your child to talk and enhance their capability to speak and communicate. Children learn to speak or talk at different speeds.

Parents can adopt different methods to teach their children how to speak, even though toddlers usually pick up a language at some point. These methods will encourage your child and help develop their speaking skills.

Using language often

Though your baby is unable to speak, it does not mean that he or she is unable to understand. You should speak to them and communicate with them as much as possible. Most babies pick up a language through what is spoken to them. Since children pick up the words and the language they listen to often, speaking to them can help teach them to talk.

For example, you can tell them about your day or speak to them about what you are doing during the day. Singing songs can also be a positive way to teach your child to pick words.

Reading to them

One of the most effective ways to help your child learn words and speak is to read to them every day. They can adapt and use the words they pick up from a book when they start speaking fluently.

According to a study in 2019, children whose parents read one book a day to them are exposed to 1.4 million more words by the time they enter kindergarten than children who are not read to.

Naming items

Many babies tend to point at the things they want because they do not know what it is called, or they may not be able to speak the word. Hence, to encourage your child to say the word, if he or she points at food or juice indicating he or she wants it, it may help if you say "juice" or "food" so that your child can pick up the words.

Offering choices

You can help your child communicate by offering them choices if the situation requires it. If you have apple juice and orange juice, and you want your child to choose what juice he or she wants, you may ask them,"Do you want apple juice or do you want orange juice?"

These are some of the ways in which you can encourage your child to talk, although there are many other ways to do so, such as limiting screen time and expanding on their response. With this, you can not only help your child speak, but you can also improve their communication skills.