Encouraging speech, language and communication development in babies and young children

There are so many things we can do to help our children on the road to talking.

Here are some of our top tips to try:

• Follow the child’s lead – focus on the things they are interested in

• Wait! Add pauses after your comments or questions – young children’s brains take longer to process information

• Copy what the child does or says – then wait for them to respond

• Try not to ask too many questions – try commenting on what the child is doing instead

• Help children understand new words, by using words to match their interests and repeating them over and over again

• Say the words you think the child is trying to say, or would say if they could – hearing it from you will help them to have a go next time

Babies make sounds right from the time they are born – in fact, they announce their arrival with a loud cry! During the first six months, babies learn to make other sounds besides crying, such as cooing and laughing.

Then, between approximately five to 10 months of age, babies’ sounds start to change. They begin to make syllables, such as “ba ba” or “di di” that include a consonant and a vowel. This is known as 'babbling'.

As babies continue to develop, their babbling begins to sound more and more like conversation. This is sometimes referred to as jargon, and this babble has a rhythm and tone which sounds a lot like adult speech.

After about a year of making various sounds and syllables, young children start to say their first word.

 Tips to help you notice your child’s babble and know how to respond:

• Pause and wait for child to babble
• Observe your child so you can spot when they babble
• Copy your child’s babble – this supports them taking a turn, interact and pay attention to you!
• Interpret – say what you think they would say if they could e.g. baby says ‘babba’, but points or looks at the ball so you may interpret that they want to communicate ‘ball’ & say this back to them

Singing with babies is a fantastic thing to do!   

Babies often respond to music and songs long before they can communicate with words, so singing together is a great way to build interactions.

Try these top tips when you sing:

• Sit where you can see each other’s faces
• Don’t go too fast – babies need more time to listen, so sing slow
• Pause as you sing – stopping to allow baby to react, by smiling, making sounds, actions or a word, helps to turn your singing into a mini-conversation
• Use actions when you sing – this will help babies focus on you; most babies will be able to join in with actions long before the words
• Repeat the same songs lots of times – you might get bored, but babies love to learn from repetition
• You can make up your own songs too, to match what you and baby are doing
• Don’t worry about what you sound like…… just have fun

We all learn new words all the time, even as adults! A good vocabulary is one of the most important things children can develop – it will help them to become more confident talkers, readers and writers.

When you come across a new word with a child, you can use these 5 steps to help them to learn what it means.

1. Make the new word Stand Out! Pause before or after the word, change your voice - this will draw the child's attention to the new word they heard

2. Use visual cues to build understanding. Use gestures, objects, pictures, facial expressions to help the child understand what the new word means

3. Explain what the new word means. Can you describe it? Does it belong in a category? Can you give more detail?

4. Link to things the child already knows. Link the word to recent experiences, existing knowledge or other similar words

5. Say it again! and again and again. Repetition is key - the more times the child hears the new word in different situations, the more they will understand it and eventually feel confident to use it.

In the early months of a new baby’s life, dummies can be a useful tool to help to soothe your baby if you choose to use one. It is useful to think about how you use a dummy with your baby in order to prevent any potential impact on their talking.

Can the use of dummies affect speech?

• There is various evidence about the use of dummies, although there is no current evidence that using them briefly during the first few months has a detrimental effect on speech.
• Longer term use of dummies (beyond one years old) and the excessive use of dummies has the potential to change tongue movements and the development of teeth, which may contribute to difficulties making certain sounds for talking.
• Children who use dummies frequently may also speak or babble less; having the dummy in their mouth may prevent them from practising babbling or talking.

Weaning babies off the dummy

• The NHS recommends weaning babies off dummies between 6 and 12 months of age.
• Weaning babies off the dummy by the age of 1 can allow them the opportunity to practice babbling and speaking their first words. Weaning your baby off the dummy allows them to become more expressive and to practice their sounds.

Top tips:

• If your baby is crying, try to think about what they are trying to tell you instead of reaching for the dummy; try using other comforting items such as a blanket, teddy or favourite toy.
• When your baby is content, ensure they don’t have access to the dummy – only use it when it’s needed.
• If your baby is trying to babble or talk, it’s important that you remove the dummy.
• Limit the dummy to key times such as bedtime or when they are poorly and stick to these times.
• Have a plan in mind for when you will stop using the dummy; you may choose to stop the dummy use at a certain time, or gradually reduce it.
• For older toddlers/children you could try swapping the dummy for something they would like, or giving it away (e.g, to Father Christmas, etc).

Chatting to your baby or child at mealtimes can make them feel more included, understand that mealtimes are a time to connect, and provide an opportunity to develop their conversational skills.

Try these top tips when you chat at mealtimes:

• Sit where you can see each other’s faces, so put your phones away, turn the TV off and give your child your full attention during these times.
• Name the foods and wait for baby or child to respond when you talk. If they babble, respond to them in turn by babbling back or saying something more about the food.
• You might say words like 'tasty', 'yummy' and 'sweet', words for textures like 'smooth', or even words for temperatures like 'cold'.
• Use words for actions too - both the things you're doing, using words like 'cut' and 'stir', and the things they're doing like 'eat', 'taste' and 'smell'.
• Offer your child choices of what they could eat by holding the objects up to choose from e.g. ‘do you want apple or banana?’.
• If your child is able or older, mealtimes maybe a great opportunity to discuss what has happened that day or any favourite conversational topic.

It’s never to early for sharing stories!

Sharing books and stories with your babies is a great way of connecting with your baby while you focus on something together.

It can support your little one to develop important skills, such as shared attention, interaction skills, listening and later beginning to understand and use the words they are hearing from you.

Take a look at some of our top tips and give them a try:

• Go slow! Give your baby plenty of time to look at the book and to respond to what you are saying.
• Sit so that you and your baby can see each other's faces.
• Use sounds and actions to help keep your baby's interest, if your baby makes sounds - copy them back! 
• Repetition really helps your baby to begin to make links between what you are saying and what they see in the book - don't be afraid to share your favourites over and over! 

Remember, it’s not always about reading the words - It’s about you and your baby sharing time together and communicating. If you have fun, baby will have fun and learn to love books.

Books and stories are a fantastic way of supporting young children’s language development.

Sharing books and stories with your children allows you to spend time together with a shared focus – this is really important for developing their listening and interaction skills.

Books are a fantastic source of new and interesting words and information! Whether your little one is just starting to talk or is a total chatterbox, there are always new words to learn and new things to talk about.

Top tips: 

• ​​​​​​​Go slow! Take a pause before or after you turn a page, give your child time to show or tell you about something that has interested them.
• Sit so that you and your child can see each other's faces. 
• Take time to talk about new words - help your child understand what they mean and then use them again and again.
• As children develop more language skills, talk more about the stories - talk about the characters, can you both work out what might happen next?, what would you and your child do if you were that character?

Remember, it’s not about reading every word or even every page. It’s about you and your child talking together and enjoying stories.

The best way to assist learning for young children is through social interactions with peers and adults. In order to make screen time a shared experience, a discussion topic, and an activity with boundaries, adults should make an effort to schedule time for activity sharing with their children.

What is screen time? 

Screen time is considered anytime which is spent looking at a screen. Types of screens include: mobile phones, computers, tablets; including iPads and television. Screens can be used for a variety of reasons including looking at photographs, watching TV, looking at social media, watching YouTube videos, playing games and watching educational content

What are the risks involved?

It is known that children learn from interactions with those around them and when using a screen, these opportunities for interactions can be reduced.

• Screens do not respond the say way as humans and do not provide the same feedback. They do not respond to children’s attempts to communicate.
• Screens on in the background can cause disruption and can be distracting, this can have an impact on children’s play.
• Screens can mean reduced opportunities for learning and interactions with adults and peers.

Top tips:

• Reduce the amount of time your child spends with a screen.
• Be a good role model and limit your own use of screens.
• Share screen time. Watch together, interpret and with your child as you share the experience.
• Make it fun!