Activities to Encourage Speech and Language Development in Toddlers

From the day they’re born, our babies communicate with us. Whether they’re crying because they’re hungry, pointing to a toy they want, or babbling at you, children instinctively desire to communicate with the people in their lives. As they grow older, the way they communicate changes and matures along with them. By the time they’re toddlers, they’re completing full words or thoughts, learning to associate words with objects, and determining how to use their new communication tools to meet their needs (and wants).

Activities to Encourage Your Toddler’s Speech and Language

Here are a few activities we as parents can engage in to help ensure our children learn to communicate effectively through speech and language:

• Make Animal Sounds: This game is simple and effective in helping your child learn the names of different animals and their sounds. First, gather magazines and cut out photos of different animals or print out online images of animals. Go through the photos with your child, or let them pick an image. See if your child can name the animal in the photo. If they can, repeat the name of the animal and make the noise associated with that animal before having your child mimic the sounds. If they aren’t sure what the name of the animal is, dictate the word clearly and encourage them to repeat it before moving on to the sound that the animal makes. Acting out the different animals is another good way to get your child involved in the game. Prance around and roar like a lion, flap your arms like a chicken, or stick your tongue out and run around on all fours like a dog.
• Play I Spy: This game aims to help your child make associations between words and objects while expanding their vocabulary. To begin, place some familiar objects on the floor or a table. They can be any object, though we recommend starting with common objects your toddler will encounter regularly, like an apple, a block, or a cup. Next, tell your toddler, “I spy something that starts with ‘aaaaa.’” Be sure to elongate and exaggerate your sounds, and give your child enough time to find the object. If they guess the right object, have them name the object or repeat the name after you do, then congratulate them and positively reinforce them.
• Play Telephone: Toddlers love to play pretend. To play telephone, get a play phone or make one yourself. Sit down with your toddler and pretend the phone is ringing before asking them to answer it. This activity encourages the development of conversation skills. To take this game to another level, purchase or create two different phones and pretend you’re talking to your little one over the phone. Ask them questions, sing silly songs, or have fun conversations as different characters before hanging up and playing again!
• This or That: This game helps your child with critical thinking and decision-making while developing their speech and language skills. Additionally, it can be played around meal times to involve your toddler in making choices regarding their diet. Begin by placing objects in the same ‘category’ on the table or floor in front of your child. For example, an apple and a banana, one cup of milk and one cup of juice, two different stuffed animals, or two different sweet treats. Then ask your child, “Do you want _____ or _____?” Have them answer you verbally. If they seem hesitant to name the object they want and simply point to it, encourage them to repeat the object's name after you before giving it to them.
• Sing-a-long: Sing nursery rhymes or simple songs with your child to help them learn the rhythm of speech. Encourage them to clap and dance to the song, or if they know the song, try and have them sing the next line.
• Read Together: Reading is one of the most beneficial things you can do with your child to encourage speech and language skills. Establish a reading routine with your little one, allow them to choose what book they’d like you to read to them, and point to images in the book and label them or ask your child to label them. For younger children, it’s best to start with books with fewer images and words, as they are less distracting and allow your child to focus better on what they are seeing.
• Build with Blocks: Building with blocks is a great way to keep your child active, engage their motor skills, and promote speech and language development. Have your child stack blocks on top of one another to make a tower, and count the blocks as they build. You can also practice learning colors by asking them to make a pile of blue or yellow blocks or naming the colors of the blocks as they build. Encourage them to repeat the letters and colors as they build.

Communication for Toddlers Made Easy

At Curious Baby, we know how important it is for children to communicate effectively with their caregivers and peers. Speech and language development is vital to early childhood, and fostering the right learning environment for your toddler is key to their success. Still, sometimes, as parents, it can be difficult to know where to start and what approaches to speech and language development are appropriate at a certain age. That’s why we created Curious Baby Speech and Language Cards. Our cards are loaded with information about the language skills your little cutie should be learning as they age, along with a variety of fun activities designed to help ensure they have fun while learning.