It’s not about the toys, it’s about the talk!
We often wonder which toys help with speech and language, but it isn’t about the toys we choose… It’s about noticing what your child wants to talk about and engaging with them!
Top tips:
- Follow your child’s curiosity: be open to their interests, even if its a random object they wish to play with and not necessarily a toy
- Get involved: you can join in alongside your child by mirroring their play – for example, if they are playing with a hat, you can also play with a hat of your own
- Add words and sounds: if your child is interested in something random, for example a chunky cookbook, it may not be the pictures or words they’re interested in, but more the size of the book and the noises of it closing or pages rustling – this is a great opportunity to talk about the sounds it is making, or modelling key words such as ‘open’ and ‘close’
- Ask questions: for example, if you are playing with a jug, you could fill it with water and ask your child ‘what happens if I now tip this jug?’ – then you can discover the answer together!
