Ways to encourage your toddler to talk

Every child is different and just because your friend’s child started picking out words from the age of two years, don’t mean that your baby will take the same amount of time to learn those words. The time can either be lesser or more! Toddlers can be quite moody, and in every probability themselves choose the activity they like doing best! However before you think about starting to help out your baby with talking there are a few milestones you need to keep an eye out for. If your little one:

• Sits and listens to stories attentively
• Is able to comprehend simple questions like: ‘Where is your teeth?’ or ‘Where is mom?’
• Can say simple words like “ma’ or ‘dada’ and even string together 2 or more words together
• Is able to concentrate on certain activities for longer durations, then he/she is ready to go ahead with the learning process.

There are a number of things you can do to encourage your little one to start talking.

• Reading Books Together
• Talk to them everyday about the smallest of things. Or even your routine. Try to use simple language.
• Listen and repeat. Try to repeat whatever your little one says. If he/she uses one word, then try to expand that word and use another word connected to it. For example, if your baby says ‘fruit’ you can always repeat and say ‘2 fruits’ or ‘another fruit’.
• Use objects to make them learn better. You can also use objects to ask them questions and make them understand particular instructions.

Just remember, when teaching your baby anything, you need to be patient with your little one since they do tend to get irritated when adults are not able to understand them. Be patient and observant and you will do just fine!