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Thank you Jkcoop! I would rep you again but got to spread the love. I was just looking through our library and realized I don't have a single Dr Seuss book! :O
Reading frequently is great, but also talk to him *a lot*. Try to avoid 'baby talk' and just talk like you would to anyone. The beauty of talking is that you can do it anywhere - in the car, while shopping, while you're doing the dishes, etc..
Does anyone have any recommendations on toddler books that increase your child's vocabulary? I remember as a child I read the Sweet Pickles books with my mom faithfully. They are out of print and I am looking for something along those lines. Currently we do flash cards and read but I find the books are not always geared for alphabet learning or increasing it.
And if you can't recommend a book what have you done to increase your child's vocabulary?
So far Toddler X is at:
1. Daddy
2. Mommy
3. Meow Meow
4. Dog
5. Boob (don't even ask! He was breast fed..)
6. ball
7. basketball
8. baby
9. car
10. drink
11. thank you
12. please
13. duck
14. goal
I try showing him the objects he wants and repeat it till the cows come home but looks at me like I am daft. I am a bit skeptical of the your baby can read series and my neighbors say not to worry he will just start talking so much you will wish he was quiet.
Any homeschooling moms with preschoolers have any recommendations on teaching your child vocabulary I really truly appreciate your advice.
Any thoughts or recommendations is highly appreciated!
Good thing about being skeptical about Your Baby Can Read. Of course the series works as it is rote memorization. If you drive by the same stop sign everyday & tell your child "stop sign", he/she will know what it SAYS b/c it has been repeated to him/her on a daily basis. Whether or not they COMPREHEND what it means/says is a whole different thing.
The library & just straight out reading to your child every night for about 15-20 mins. So what if you take him to the library & he doesn't hold a college admissions interview w/ the other toddlers Engross your child in books. My boys have always loved the library. Mind you, there have been the meltdowns & grabbing every book off the shelf moments, but they love picking them out, helping check them out & then going home, spreading the books all over the floor, and "reading" them. We make a big deal out of it. Sometimes stop off & pick up some ice cream or a treat. Many times at home, I have classical music on in the background (one b/c I like it & two, b/c it is has been shown to help)
Have you tried music & playdough? Get the creative juices following. These sort of activities do indeed help language development.
Limit tv. Use it very sparingly. Again, by keeping the tv off, your child is inadvertently made to be imaginative & think. More language development.
No need to worry. If your child wasn't speaking or speaking in a manner that you could not decipher any words, then there could possibly be a delay there. But most peds wait until about 3 & if your ped had a concern, he/she would have probably already addressed it.
Oh, my, yes, once they start it doesn't stop. And then when there is quiet you are sad & ask the kids if they are feeling ok, etc
Library, arts, music, outside...these are all things that will encourage language development for they naturally stimulate the brain.
ps..does your local library offer story times? or places like the YMCA or local rec centers offer reading times. these are nice things & many time (other than the library which is free) very minimal cost.
As has already been suggested, talk to him alot. Even if you don't have baby books just the sound of your voice and the interaction between the two of you - or anybody else- will naturally increase his vocabulary.
I used to read the newspaper and magazine articles outloud to my small children to help with their vocabulary and also singing is a great way to impart rythym and happiness. I played alot of kids music but also old - 40's and 50's- songs for my kids. By the time my youngest were 2 they knew Rosemary Clooney songs as well as Nat King Cole. Any songs with words you can definitely hear.---nothing like todays jumbled mess. They tried to sing along but of course didn't know the words but they loved swaying and dancing all of which are part of loving to speak.
dd is an April baby too. You have some great advice here, and I would try it all, but it looks like mini X is following the same path as mini FR. She used to bring us her Dr Suess books to read to her when she was that age, but she wasn't going to talk a lot until she was ready. It's almost like she was storing it all up for future reference.
We had a similar list of words to yours on the fridge, which we'd add to here and there. If X doesn't get to the point where you can't write it all down anymore when he's two then I'd seek professional intervention. I know it's hard not to worry but try. All the things you're doing now are only going to help, but you can't rush him.
Thank you 121804 (sorry I couldn't rep you again) and No kudzu!
We go to our wee playtime library and he enjoys it very much.
I will take everything on board. You guys have given so much great advice and I hope it helps other mommies like me who worry about their child's progression in talking and vocabulary.
When I first opened your thread I thought it was going to be about an older child, I don't think you have much to worry about just yet.
I know it's hard not to compare when your at the library hearing other kids jabber on and on when your little one can't say too many words but I gaurantee you that your son is more developed in other areas then some of these kids.
My son was an early talker and by 2 he could probably say 250 to 500 words and the little bugger would even correct you if you didn't pronounce the words correctly!! I assure you I did nothing out of the ordinary to develop his vocabulary in this way, he is just personally adept at language. His problem solving skills on the other hand are a little lacking and he gets frustrated very easily. Every kid is different.
That being said a couple of things I do like to do with him now or did when he was little:
1-I taught him simple sign language by the time we stopped (around 3) he probably had learned 40 or 50 words this way.
2-I let him watch noggin (I think it's just Nick Jr. now) those shows are great and they teach them so much. My son's vocabulary includes words like nocturnal, marsupial and other long words. Thank you Diego!!
3-I have a series of books that I'm going to look at the name of when i get home, it's white pages with photos of certain items grouped by page. Great for pointing and saying "this is XYZ" or you can make up your own games with it; it's geared towards toddlers. They have one about cars and now my son knows every single part of the car (more so than me!). Great series like I said I'll post it when i get home.
4-I'm a blabber mouth (as if you guys didn't know) so I talk to him and around him all day. I don't use much baby talk (unless I'm telling him how cute he is)
5-I love to read and some weekends when I really want to read a book he'll curl up on the couch with me and let me read it outloud to him. The other day he listened to me read an hours worth of eat pray love. Not all books are okay to read to him but most are, I doubt he's listening to the story too much I just think he likes to hear me talk.
6-We do lots of word games in the car, right now we are doing "spelling" so i say a word and he tells me the letters it starts and ends with. It's a little early for that with your son but maybe you could say an animal and he just has to tell you the sound. He's not saying the word but it does reinforce the words by hearing you saying them and letting him make a connection.
7-And of course we do bedtime stories he gets 2 a night. They vary from classics like The Giving Tree to series like Bernstein Bears and then he has lots of Disney books and other random stuff. The only books I do not like for bedtime are Dr. Seuss, they are okay during the day, but with all that rhyming it's hard to read it without using a super excited voice and it doesn't let him wind down for bed.
we started with our children very early, way before they were even l. just signs like more, mama, daddy, cat, dog. anything to help them learn to communicate. it is so funny to see a small kid communicate with their hands. they know what they are trying to say but of course words just don't come this early.
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Engross your child in books. My boys have always loved the library. Mind you, there have been the meltdowns & grabbing every book off the shelf moments, but they love picking them out, helping check them out & then going home, spreading the books all over the floor, and "reading" them. We make a big deal out of it. Sometimes stop off & pick up some ice cream or a treat. Many times at home, I have classical music on in the background (one b/c I like it & two, b/c it is has been shown to help)
