What you can expect of your child s language at the age of 6 months

Transcription

1 What you can expect of your child s language at the age of 6 months our child shows you how they feel and what they want by using sounds, facial expressions and movements. Some children begin to make word-like sounds such as da and ma our child also begins to understand basic set phrases like Look! Are you hungry? hey will also start to recognize their name and mum and dad s names our child cannot say anything consciously yet, but they will love to take part in conversa tions with you and they will enjoy playing little games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake Help your child learn alk to your child I n order for your child s language to develop, they need to hear people speak. Please talk to your child when you are feeding them, when you are dressing them and talk about the things you see when you are out for a walk together H ave conversations where you repeat the child s sounds and try to put them into words. Wait until your child responds with a sound or a movement before continuing the conversation ead to your child R B ooks are a great starting point for good conversations with your child W hen you look at the pictures in a book, point at things and name them for your child. ry to follow what your child is interested in, even if the child only wants to look at one specific page. At the beginning your child might only show an interest in what you are reading for a short time, if that is the case, try again later

2 More ideas on how you can help your 6 month old child learn language alk about things that capture your child s interest alk about all the things your child shows an interest in. If you see that your child is looking at their cup of milk when they are eating, you could say: es, that s a cup. here is milk in the cup. It s your milk. It s a good idea to point while you re talking so the child knows what you re talking about R epeat the sounds your baby makes Repeat your baby s sounds and wait for their reaction. our child loves it and is using this as a way to practise having conversations with others Get your child to talk to you ry to get your child to talk to you using sounds or movements. It is important your child feels you are listening when they are talking. his way your child will be more inclined to speak P lay with language whenever possible Sing children s songs, make up rhymes and little jingles and play simple games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake with your baby. our child will have fun while at the same time learning language F ind books and toys for your child to play with Børn elsker bøger Illustrationer og grafik: Helle Vibeke Jensen & Maria Hagerup our child will learn by playing with books and also with toys that they can shake, makes noises with, put in their mouth, touch and squeeze. alk to your child about these things

3 What you can expect of your child s language at the age of 12 months ow your child is beginning to get better at conversation. hey use their body, sounds and N words and as well as gazing in the right direction to tell you something our child begins to know more and more words from the everyday life, but still needs help to understand the words (for example by pointing at them). Usually it is words for humans (sister or brother s name), food and drinks (for example biscuit and banana) and concrete things from the child s own world (for example car or ball) which the child first understands our child will soon be able to say their first words - those dealing with the here-and-now (such as: hello, animal sounds like woof, thanks or food) Help your child learn alk to your child W hen you talk to your child, repeat what they say and interpret their sounds and words. If the child says da and points at a cat, then reply: es, it s a cat. he cat is cute. Do you like the cat? Remember to wait for the child s reply he more you talk to each other, the more your child learns. Use all your daily routines and activities to help improve your child s language. If your child is preoccupied with a sock when they are getting dressed, talk about socks (talk about the colour of the sock and what you use socks for) ead to your child R ake time to read and point at the pictures as you read. Ask your child to point to specific things in the books R ead to your child often and let them explore books by themselves. Let them leaf through them. Also let them take as long as they want to look at each page

4 More ideas on how you can help your 12 month old child learn F ollow the child s interest and name things Many children point to things around them when they want you to tell them the name of the thing they are pointing at. ou will help to increase your child s vocabulary if you name the things you see and tell them what they are doing in everyday life. If your child shows a special interest in something, use it to your advantage. It s easier to learn something you think is fun S peak often and about varied topics When children learn new words, they need to hear them several times in different sentences. Say for example, when the child is sitting with a teddy bear: hat s a nice bear. he bear is brown. I like the bear. When a child hears a lot of language, they will understand it quicker and use it themselves P ay attention when your child is speaking If you listen carefully to what your child says and answer them, your child will believe they are getting good at holding a conversation. hat way your child will quickly learn what conversation is about (they will grasp how to take turns at giving and receiving information) P lay with language whenever possible Sing children s songs, make up rhymes and little jingles and play simple singing games. ou could also sing songs from songbooks M ake stories and books part of your everyday ell your child stories. ell them about the squirrel in the garden, their teddy bear and about the bus they are riding in. alk to the child about the people they can see in their family photos. Read books when there is a little gap in your day. he more experience your child gets of language, the more language they learn Børn elsker bøger Illustrationer og grafik: Helle Vibeke Jensen & Maria Hagerup routine

5 What you can expect of your child s language at the age of 18 months our child can understand up to 200 words now and is beginning to understand most of the words relating to their everyday life without any help he child can say about 25 words. hey don t use the words in quite the same way as adults yet. hey can have different meanings in different contexts. When your child uses the word teddy bear, it can either be a question (where did the bear go?) or because they want the bear (give me the teddy bear) he child is beginning to put words together (eg dad car could mean it s dad s car ) Help your child learn alk to your child our child needs practice to become good at language. our child can participate actively in conversations, but still needs lots of help from you to answer. ou can help them to name the things you see or experience, and by giving your child the space to reply, you let them practise W hen you build on the child s answers, when you repeat and use the words in longer sentences, you give your child the opportunity to learn language by imitating you ead to your child R ou can now have short conversations about what is happening in the books. Remember to take your time to read and listen, giving your child time to reply and say what they want to he child can understand many words and they could benefit from reading many different books with you. Put the books in a place where they can reach them and look at them whenever they want

6 More ideas on how you can help your 18 month old child learn language Speak often and about varied topics our child will still need your help to learn language. ell your child what you are doing in various situations. ou could say: Now we are making dinner. So let s go into the kitchen. he more you explain what you are doing in your day-to-day life, the more your child will learn Interpret and expand on what the child is saying If you use the child s own words, and add in more words when you are talking about something, it helps the child to learn. If the child says food, you could say: es that s food. We re making something to eat because you are hungry. his food tastes really nice A sk your child questions and wait for them to answer ou can now ask your child more questions about what you are experiencing and expect the child to be able to reply. Remember to wait for the child to answer even if it takes them some time. If your child does not say anything when you ask a question such as whether they are tired, you can help by giving the answer: es, I think you re a little tired Make things relevant to the child ry not to correct the child s mistakes directly Børn elsker bøger I f your child says tat instead of cat, don t correct them as that won t teach them anything. Instead, repeat what your child says, but correctly so that they can learn by imitating you and eventually get the hang of the word Illustrationer og grafik: Helle Vibeke Jensen & Maria Hagerup It is easier for the child to learn something new if you associate what they are trying to learn with something they already know. If you see a picture of a pair of trousers, you could point at the child s own trousers and say: Look these are your trousers. ou ve got trousers just like the boy in the book

7 What you can expect of your child s language at the age of 3 our child can now say several hundred words and can put them together to make longer sentences. hey begin to understand that words are used to share information, ideas and feelings our child can now hold short conversations about specific topics and even begin to tell short understandable stories about what they have experienced our child starts to realize that words are made up of sounds you can play with Help your child learn alk to your child ou still need to teach your child new words for everyday items, but you can now ask them directly what they think and what they want. For example, when your child is getting dressed, you can ask them which shirt they like best and why alk to your child about what they have done that day at nursery. Help your child by asking specific questions like: What was the most exciting thing that happened today? ead to your child R alk to your child about what the book is about and let them ask questions as you go along. Whenever your child asks a question, stop and answer it. Ask them questions about the book that help them to be able to retell the story U se any new words contained in the book, preferably several times, and try to help the child understand them by linking them with things the child already knows

8 More ideas on how you can help your 3 year old child learn language Explain any words the child doesn t already know All children need to know what new words mean. If, for instance, the child does not understand the word sea in the sentence: he ship was at sea, can you explain it using another word with almost the same meaning (eg he sea is a kind of lake - it s just a very big one) or use the word in a different context (eg When we go to the beach, we swim in the sea) Use leading questions o get your child to use language, you can ask leading questions. hat is to say ones which cannot be answered with a yes or a no. ou could ask: Why do you like eggs? Interpret what the child is saying and expand on it When your child is talking about what happened at nursery, you can build on their language by expanding what the child is recounting. If your child says: I was on the swing, you could ask Was it a swing like you see at the park, or was it a swing hanging from a tree? or you could ask: What is it you like about swinging? So you teach your child more language and at the same time you show them how to use language to elaborate on their experiences Make things relevant to the child When you are having a conversation, try to associate things with your child s own experiences. If, for instance, the child doesn t know the word truck, you could say: A truck is just like our car, only much bigger. ou use trucks to move big things around When your child says something that is not quite right, it is a sign that they have started to learn but they still need some help. Help them by saying it the right way so they have the opportunity to hear what they should have said. hen the child will figure it out on their own when they are ready Børn elsker bøger Illustrationer og grafik: Helle Vibeke Jensen & Maria Hagerup ry not to correct the child s mistakes directly