Working together with words!
Language focused play is a part of the day when your child has your full attention, and gives them an opportunity to control their play without direction from an adult.
By building this into your daily routine, you are able to fully focus on your child’s play and allow them to direct the play themselves without distractions or instructions. You will also be giving them the opportunity to develop their speech, language and communication skills at their own pace.
By facilitating your child’s play, rather than dominating it, will give them the confidence to try new things and extend their play and social skills!
Top tips:
- Allocate some time: ideally five-ten minutes, depending on the age of your child and their attention span
- Find a quiet space: young children find it difficult to block out background noise, so turn off all distractions (TV, radio, phone, iPad etc)
- Allow room to move: get down to your child’s level so that they can see your face, and follow them around the room if they move
- Let your child lead: give your child a chance to direct the play by waiting to see what they do and then copying them – try not to make suggestions or show them what to do
- Gain your child’s attention: wait for your them to look at you before saying anything
- Comment on what your child is doing: use one or two key, simple words and try not to ask questions – adding commentary helps your child to make the connection between actions and words (you can also comment on what your child is doing throughout the day, for example getting washed and dressed, going to the shops etc)
- Repeat what your child says and add another word: for example, if they say ‘car’ you can say ‘big car’ or ‘yellow car’ – this allows your child to hear back what they have said and build new vocabulary