A common concern that parents of young children have when starting speech and language therapy is, “When will I find the time to practise speech and language strategies with my child?”.
And I get it, you are busy! As parents we are juggling meals, school runs, laundry, bath time, bedtime, work and everything else on the ‘To Do List.’
The thing is, you don’t need special speech and language time with your child, because the most effective way for your early communicator to learn language is through the every day routines that you are already doing.
That’s right, mealtimes, bath time, bedtime, nappy changes, dressing & undressing, and all the other routines you are doing throughout the week are the best language learning opportunities for your child.
Let me give you an example:
Bath Time
You are already doing bath time daily, right? Instead of going through the routine on autopilot, what if you used routine language (i.e. the same language every bath time) to narrate what is happening?
- “Bath time, turn on the water.”
- “Bubbles in!”
- “Clothes off – top off, socks off, trousers off, etc.”
- “The bath is full, turn off the water.”
- “In the tub!”
- “Bubbles! Splish, splash!”
- “Time to wash – wash hands, wash tummy, wash legs, wash feet, etc.”
- “Bye-bye water” (as the tub drains).
- “Climb out of the tub.”
- “You’re all wet. Let’s get a towel and dry you off.”
- “Clothes on – nappy on, pyjamas on, etc.”
- “All done.”
No extra time needed. By being intentional with your language so that your early communicator hears consistent, predictable language as a part of a daily routine, you are doing speech therapy at home. And all that repetition is how early communicators learn. Keep up the good work!
If you would like more information about supporting children’s language development at home, please get in touch. Follow us on Facebook for more speech, language, and feeding tips, and sign up for South Lakes Speech & Language Therapy’s newsletter if you would like new posts sent directly to your inbox.