Top Tips!
Top tips for play
Play and interaction with other people is a brilliant way for children to learn language. We have some top tips for play at home or out and about!
- Observe – Watch what your child is playing with. They might have a lot of toys out. Have a look and see what they are really interested in (for example the ice cream cone of the food set).
- Wait – don’t rush to talk, give them a chance to interact with you.
- Listen – listen to what they say and react to that, rather than trying to think of something to say.
- Join in their play with the toys they like! Your child is more likely to enjoy their play with you. If they are playing with the toy food, play with the toy food to.
- Make comments on what they are doing. For example, “yum, you’re licking the ice cream! Yummy ice cream!”.
- We love using toys with no noise. This gives the adult and the child more opportunities to talk. We can always have fun making the noise of the toy e.g. “nee naw!!” for a fire engine.
Top tips for shared book reading with your child
- Sharing a book together helps listening skills and offers a nice bonding time. Try to find 10 minutes in your daily routine to read one or two books together.
- Stories can be shared at any time of the day and anywhere but try to find somewhere quiet away from noise, T.V. and mobile phones.
- Have books in your home where possible. You can borrow books from the library or a children's centre.
- Try to choose books with lots of pictures. Point to the pictures and talk about them. Ask questions when you’re reading together such as: “Can you find the …?”,” What can you see on this page?” “How do you think he feels?”
- Be brave and add animal noises or try different voices when reading stories – these help to bring the story to life and children will love it!
- Try asking your child to tell the story. Reading doesn’t have to be reading the words. Reading the pictures is just as important too.
- Talking with your child will help them learn lots more words.
- It’s OK to read the same book again and again because familiar books are comforting and build confidence.
Tips for reading with your child | BookTrust
Words for Life | National Literacy Trust | Words for Life
TOP TIPS for Parents choosing Apps for Therapy
- Look for apps reviewed by a Speech and Language Therapist or teacher. Or by a speech and language charity or organisation.
- Choose apps that are age appropriate for your child.
- Children learn by doing. Young children should avoid apps that take the place of doing something to learn a concept. It is better to run, jump or hide under an object than to watch someone on a screen do it. When your child has learnt the concept by doing it, they will understand it better in a book or on a screen. This follows the developmental sequence of learning.
- Sit next to your child when they use an app to practise therapy targets. Give them feedback and support.
- Look on YouTube for videos of the app. You can then see what it looks like before downloading it.
- Always try to avoid that have
Violence
Gender or racial stereotyping
Pop-up adverts and sales promotion
For more general ideas for communicating with your child please click the link below.
Communication strategies for older children