Encouraging Language Development in Toddlers

The toddler years are a crucial time for language development. During this stage, children experience rapid growth in their ability to communicate, express themselves, and understand the world around them. As a parent or caregiver, you play an essential role in nurturing your toddler’s language skills and fostering their ability to communicate confidently. By providing a supportive environment, engaging in meaningful interactions, and using strategies to encourage learning, you can help your toddler develop the language skills they need to thrive.

In this article, we’ll explore practical tips and strategies to encourage language development in toddlers.

1. Talk to Your Toddler Often

The foundation of language development begins with exposure to language. The more you talk to your toddler, the more they will learn. Even though your toddler may not be able to respond with full sentences, hearing you speak will help them absorb new words and understand how language works. Try to talk to your child throughout the day, narrating your actions and describing things around them.

Tips:

  • Describe your actions: For example, if you’re getting dressed, say, “I’m putting on my shoes now. Look, the shoes are blue!”
  • Name objects: Point to and name things in your environment, such as “tree,” “dog,” “ball,” and “car.”
  • Use simple and clear language: Speak in short sentences to help your toddler understand and repeat words more easily.

2. Read Together Every Day

Reading is one of the most effective ways to encourage language development in toddlers. Books expose children to new vocabulary, sentence structures, and ideas. By reading together daily, you create a rich language-learning experience that helps your toddler improve their listening, comprehension, and speaking skills.

Tips:

  • Choose age-appropriate books: Select books with colourful pictures and simple text. Board books or picture books with repetitive phrases or rhymes are great choices for toddlers.
  • Point to pictures: While reading, point to the pictures and name them. This helps your toddler connect words to images.
  • Ask questions: After reading a story, ask your toddler questions like, “What colour is the ball?” or “What is the bear doing?” These questions engage your child and encourage them to think and speak.

3. Listen Actively and Respond

Active listening is just as important as speaking when it comes to language development. When your toddler talks, give them your full attention. This shows that you value what they’re saying and encourages them to continue communicating. Respond to their attempts at speech, even if their words are unclear or incomplete. This helps reinforce their language efforts and gives them a sense of accomplishment.

Tips:

  • Acknowledge their attempts: If your toddler says something like “ba-ba” for a ball, respond by saying, “Yes, that’s a ball!” This validates their efforts and teaches them the correct word.
  • Don’t interrupt: Let your toddler finish their thoughts before responding. It’s important that they feel heard and understood.
  • Use prompts: If your toddler is struggling to find the right word, gently prompt them. For example, if they say “big,” you can say, “Is the dog big or small?”

4. Expand on What They Say

As your toddler starts to speak more, one way to encourage language development is to expand on their words. If your toddler says a word or short sentence, you can repeat it with additional detail or complexity. This teaches them how to form longer sentences and helps them learn new vocabulary.

Tips:

  • Expand on single words: If your toddler says “car,” you can say, “Yes, that’s a red car.”
  • Add more detail: If your toddler says “dog,” you can respond with “Yes, that’s a big dog with brown fur.”
  • Model correct grammar: If your toddler says, “I goed to the park,” you can respond with, “You went to the park!” This helps them learn proper sentence structure.

5. Play and Sing Together

Play and music are powerful tools for language development. Engaging in pretend play, singing songs, and playing simple games with your toddler helps them practice words, phrases, and social interactions in a fun and relaxed setting. Songs, especially those with repetitive lyrics or motions, help toddlers remember words and associate them with actions.

Tips:

  • Sing songs with actions: Songs like “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” or “The Wheels on the Bus” are great for teaching new vocabulary and encouraging movement.
  • Engage in pretend play: Pretend play, such as playing house or pretending to be animals, gives toddlers a chance to practice language in different contexts.
  • Use toys to encourage language: Use dolls, action figures, or animal toys to model dialogue and encourage your toddler to create stories.

6. Encourage Social Interaction with Others

Toddlers learn valuable language skills through interactions with their peers. Playdates, family gatherings, and community events provide opportunities for your child to communicate with others, practice turn-taking in conversations, and expand their vocabulary.

Tips:

  • Organise playdates: Arrange playdates with other toddlers to give them a chance to practice their language skills in a social setting.
  • Model social interactions: Show your toddler how to greet others, ask for things politely, and engage in conversation by modelling these behaviours yourself.
  • Encourage sharing and taking turns: Social interactions, such as sharing toys or taking turns in a game, help toddlers develop important communication and social skills.

7. Limit Screen Time

While digital devices like tablets or smartphones may seem like a convenient way to entertain toddlers, excessive screen time can hinder language development. Passive activities like watching TV or playing video games don’t provide the same interactive learning opportunities as face-to-face communication.

Tips:

  • Limit screen time: The American Academy of Paediatrics recommends limiting screen time for toddlers to no more than one hour per day.
  • Use screen time as a learning tool: If your toddler is watching a program, make it interactive by asking them questions about the characters or what’s happening on screen.
  • Prioritise active engagement: Spend more time engaging with your toddler in person through conversation, reading, and play rather than relying on screens for entertainment.

8. Be Patient and Celebrate Progress

Every child develops language skills at their own pace. Some toddlers may start speaking earlier than others, while others may take more time to express themselves. It’s important to be patient and celebrate small milestones along the way. Positive reinforcement and encouragement go a long way in helping toddlers feel confident in their abilities.

Tips:

  • Celebrate every attempt: Whether it’s a new word or a full sentence, celebrate your toddler’s efforts and encourage them to keep practicing.
  • Be patient with mistakes: Understand that your toddler may make mistakes with pronunciation or grammar. Instead of correcting them immediately, gently model the correct form and allow them time to learn.
  • Create a positive, supportive environment: Encourage your toddler to experiment with language in a stress-free, supportive environment where mistakes are part of the learning process.

Conclusion

Encouraging language development in toddlers is about providing a rich and interactive environment where they feel supported and motivated to explore language. Through talking to your child, reading together, playing, and fostering social interactions, you can help your toddler develop strong language skills that will serve as the foundation for their future communication. With patience, consistency, and plenty of encouragement, you’ll be amazed at how quickly your toddler begins to use their new language skills in everyday life.

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A home and travel safety guide for first-time parents

Now that the easy part of having a baby is over, you have to go home and deal with the most challenging part – keeping your baby safe. Babies don’t understand danger; as they age, they become more curious and want to touch everything they see.

You will need to make changes around the house to keep your baby safe. This is what experts call babyproofing. Doctors recommend going room by room and making a checklist of all the items needed for each room, but with a newborn baby, who has time for that? Lucky for you, we have made it easy by breaking down the essential items that you will need to keep your baby safe.

Let’s talk about safety gates. Even if you live in a single-story house with no stairs, a baby gate is still essential; for example, it can stop your baby from crawling into the kitchen while knives are lying around and hot oil splashing everywhere. The Safety 1st Auto Close Safety Gate (From R 1 199,00) is the best choice. We all have those moments where we need to double check if we closed a door because we can’t remember; with the Safety 1st Auto Close gate, you don’t have to worry as it has an automatic closing mechanism; the gate also opens in both directions making it easy to use.

One of the biggest dangers in the home is plug points; when baby crawls about, they are at the perfect height for little ones to get curious and want to stick their fingers into the holes. Do you want to prevent your little one from sticking their fingers into a plug point? Safety 1st Outlet Plug Protectors (From R 59,00) are made with child-resistant rounded edges to fit unused electrical outlets in your house and ensure that baby doesn’t get electrocuted.

Your home will be baby ready with Safety 1st Corner Cushion 4 Pack (From R47.99). The soft, rounded foam absorbs impact. Protect your active child from sharp corners with this four-pack of foam bumpers; they easily apply to tables, counters, and other furniture to soften sharp corners.

Cupboards are another easy hazard for children to get into and play with the contents. Walking into the kitchen and seeing your child creating a ‘meal’ for you in your pots seems like the cutest scene, but the danger comes in when there are cupboards with cleaning products or glass items that are easily accessible. If it is possible, you can move all the dangerous/hazardous items to higher cupboards that they can’t reach; If this is not possible Safety 1st Cabinet Slide Lock (From R 72, 99) will turn your home into a child-friendly zone and ensure that your child stays safe.

Safety on the move

From the moment you leave the safety of the hospital, you are extra cautious with your baby to protect them from the dangers of the world, and you will also want everyone else to be careful. Safety 1st Baby On Board Sign (From R 52,99) hangs from your rear window and alerts all drivers on the road to drive carefully around you.

When driving, it is not ideal to constantly be taking your eyes off the road to glance at the back seat and ensure your child is safe. Safety 1st Child View Mirror (From R 99,99) this adjustable mirror will help you to keep an eye on your child in the back seat; you can use it to watch children that are in either rear-facing or forward-facing car seats; it can attach either to the front or rear window depending on baby’s position.

Keeping your baby safe at home and in the car is not only about ensuring the environment is safe but also ensuring that you have all tools necessary to take care of them. Safety 1st Baby Care Basics set 4 Pack (From R 99,95) has all the essentials for a newborn baby, including a nasal aspirator, a brush and comb, and a fold-up nail clipper that is perfectly sized for those tiny nails.

The Safety 1st 11 Piece healthcare Kit (From R 290,00) is excellent for keeping in the nursery or for storing in the car for any emergencies. Some items included are a digital thermometer, a soft toothbrush, a medicine dropper, and a reversible carry case to store everything. This kit has all the necessities for your little ones’ health needs.

Shop Safety 1st at Dis-Chem, Clicks, and other major retailers.

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What is your child’s online maturity?

It may feel strange that we’re talking about online maturity when we are showing children aged 7 to 11 years old the right way to play and learn online. The reality is some children have already had extensive exposure to online platforms by the time they are 8 years old. 

Online maturity plays a huge role in your child’s digital future. How you behave and engage with technology at a young age will determine how you move forward as you get older. 

Here are the key elements that determine your child’s online maturity: 

  1. Access to devices
    Access to online means they can get online to play games, stream TV, watch YouTube channels or have their own device with internet access.
    Does your child have the freedom to access technology when and as they please?
    Is there a time limit already set up with rules and boundaries already in place?
  2. Who do they access the internet with?
    If your child is streaming TV, they can access the profile themselves, but are they playing various games or browsing YouTube channels unmonitored?
    When they go online, do they do it alone, or with a watchful eye behind every click?
    Are they allowed to access the internet with older siblings, family, or friends?
  3. Do you have privacy settings set up on all devices or child-friendly browsers in place?
    Whether they have supervised access or not, have you taken the steps to protect all devices in the household?
  4. Does your family have regular open conversations about the digital world?
    Do you discuss the dangers of playing online together?

The Codey adventure has been designed to appeal to a wide range of ages, however, a child’s individual online maturity and environment will play a large role in his or her experience of the adventure. If at times, the delivery may seem slow, this is a deliberate action, to ensure there is repetition and reinforcement of key concepts. The content is what is important. If your child does have a high online maturity, use this time together to discuss what they know. Use the opportunity to improve your communication and understanding of each other’s perspectives. By starting the conversations now, you are creating a better relationship moving forward.

If there is only one change we can make with our future surfers, it must be to – Think. Before you click!

Codey Crawler and the Social Kids team will sleep well at night and you as a parent or guardian can rest easy that you are talking to your children about what they do online. We will have a safer, wiser, and kinder internet in the future. 

Join us – Make the time or use our supervised classes – Just don’t do nothing! 

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Lifesaving SA and DHL launch an online water safety learning platform

Every year, hundreds of families across South Africa lose loved ones in preventable drowning accidents. For youth 17 and under, drowning represents the second highest cause of accidental death after road accidents. The highest percentage of deaths are in children aged 1-9 years. This problem is not unique to South Africa, but follows trends seen globally, where 90% of the world’s accidental drowning deaths occur in middle to lower income countries. (World Health Organization)

Following on from the success of Lifesaving SA’s WaterSmart School programme, in partnership with the Department of Education and DHL, Lifesaving SA has launched a free online e-learning WaterSmart hub, making water safety content accessible to all South Africans. 

While water safety training does take place in South Africa, its reach is limited. This is because programmes currently depend on in-person instruction conducted by volunteers, such as those working with Lifesaving South Africa (LSA). 

In 2016, Lifesaving SA launched WaterSmart, a paper-based educational programme written for the Department of Education Life Skills Orientation curriculum for grades 4-6. Since its inception, each year 50 lifeguard facilitators present this programme in hundreds of underprivileged schools, thanks to the sponsorship from corporates such as DHL, who through its partnership with Lifesaving South Africa, connect people and help save lives.

In 2021 the KZN Department of Education partnered with Lifesaving SA where 6700 teachers and supervisors were trained to present the programme in their classrooms. In 2022 the programme was presented to 607 770 learners in more than 6000 schools, reaching over a million learners to date.

The DHL Lifesaving WaterSmart Online Hub seeks to address the problem of drowning in South Africa by teaching learners about the various dangers water poses, empowering them to better manage risks and maintain a constant awareness and vigilance whenever water is around.

The hub includes animated video content and interactive quizzes and spot the risks, making it fun and easy for children to learn about water safety and prevent drowning. The characters and scenes are presented in a simple, easy to understand format, allowing a greater audience to be reached. The content draws upon materials already developed by LSA for in-person training, including the character of “Resci,” who guides learners through the content. Teachers and parents are guided with learning plans, downloadable resources such as workbooks, readers, and posters to assist with delivering the programme to their learners and after each module is completed the learner is presented with a certificate.

Jed Michaletos, Managing Director of DHL Express South Africa, expressed his delight, adding, “As a business, we talk about delivering excellence in a digital world, so when we had the opportunity to work with the Lifesaving SA team to digitize their learning materials, we jumped at it. This will increase the reach of the programme dramatically through ease of access – and really help deliver the message of water safety, to all. This project is a true demonstration of our organisational purpose, of Connecting People and Improving Lives.”

With summer having finally arrived after a long and wet winter, DHL and Lifesaving SA want to ensure that children are taught how to be safe around water to prevent unnecessary drownings because one life lost to drowning is one life too many.

To access the hub, visit https://watersmart.dhllifesaving.com/library/home or click on the QR code to start learning.

For more information about Lifesaving South Africa visit www.lifesaving.co.za and follow us on social media

X – @LifesavingSA

Facebook – Lifesaving South Africa

Instagram – lifesavingsouthafrica

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