How to teach children to talk: best practices

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Every mother looks forward to when her baby learns to pronounce the first words. But even after this joyful event, anxiety does not decrease. Is it critical if at two years old a child does not speak in sentences? How to deal with if the child pronounces sounds distorted, simplifies words? Let's talk about how to teach a child to speak correctly without a speech therapist, as well as some common mistakes parents make.

Why is the baby silent?

Speech therapists from different countries note that modern children begin to speak later than the generation of their parents. In addition, they have more violations with the pronunciation of sounds. Very often, parents come to the reception with the question of how to teach a two-year-old child to talk. Although, according to the norms, at this age it is already necessary to speak in simple sentences.

Reason for the delay may be as follows:

• Violationspsychophysical development. These include hearing problems, abnormal structure of the speech apparatus, neurological and mental illnesses. This is due to the poor he alth of mom and dad, birth injuries.
• Underdevelopment of the muscles of the tongue, lips, jaw. The reason may be the constant sucking of the pacifier, eating only soft food.
• Unfavorable family environment, in which the baby does not feel safe, closes.
• Lack of attention. Sometimes all communication with a child in the family comes down to caring for him, the rest of the time he is left to himself or sits in front of the TV.
• Multilingual environment. If mom speaks Russian and dad speaks English, the child will later say his first words. But immediately - in two languages.
• "Speech negativity" when the baby does not speak because of stubbornness. As a rule, this is due to excessive pressure from adults who forced him to repeat words and scolded him for mistakes.

Infant speech development

To prevent falling behind, you need to have an understanding of the generally accepted norms. A newborn baby knows how to communicate his problems in one way - a loud cry. However, already at the age of one month, babies begin to pronounce vowel sounds. And children with hearing impairments do the same. From 3 to 6 months, babies actively develop cooing. The sounds "ah-ah-ah", "guuuu" and others they pull with different intonations. Interestingly, speakers of different languages can easily recognize their little compatriots by the walk.

After six months, children begin to babble. Now they are learning to pronounce syllables from consonants and vowels. At the same time, combinations similar to the words: "mother", "woman" may accidentally slip through. However, the baby does not yet endow the sound shell with meaning. Babble is not observed in children with hearing problems. Its absence is a reason to turn to specialists.

Also at 7-9 months, babies develop understanding of speech. They can show where mom or favorite toy is. Children clearly determine the mood of a person by his intonation, they try to repeat the words. You can teach a child to talk by doing the right thing with him. Then by the year already meaningful words appear. In a baby's speech, there can be from 3 to 10.

What should adults do?

How to teach a child to talk? First of all, he needs regular communication with loved ones. You can start it when the baby is still in the tummy. It has been proven that newborns recognize the voices of their parents, calm down faster to the song they heard before they were born.

When talking to a baby, comment on all your actions, name objects. Songs, rhythmic verses are well perceived by children. Speak emotionally, clearly, change intonations. Stressed vowels are best stretched a little. Lean towards the baby so that he can see the correct articulation, open your mouth wide exaggeratedly, or stretch your lips. From the first months, engage the baby in a dialogue, giving time for a response.

With a six-month-old baby, arrange roll calls, repeating itbabble. He will answer you. When contact is established, offer to repeat new syllables after you: “ha-ha-ha”, “knock-knock-knock”. At this time, learn the names of toys, objects and the sounds they make: “This is a cat, she says“meow-meow”. Teach your baby to show where a familiar object is.

Speech development in one-year-olds

If by 12 months a child can pronounce no more than 10 words, then in six months their number increases 3 times. Children often speak in a language they do not understand. At this age is typical:

• pronunciation of predominantly open syllables - "ma", "di", "tu";
• use of onomatopoeia or syllables instead of words ("meow" - cat, "ki" - book);
• using a variety of intonations to express your emotions.

At the same time, the passive dictionary is actively replenished. Kids understand the speech of adults, show the named object in the book. Listen carefully to conversations, try to answer. Parents often wonder how to properly teach a child to talk in a year if he himself does not make any attempts. Let's get acquainted with the advice of speech therapists.

Tips for moms

Unfortunately, there are no magic ways. If you do not know how to teach a child to talk at a year old, develop the habit of not being silent. Communicate with your babyhis attention to the objects around him. Do not distort words, speak correctly, slightly stretching the stressed vowel. Remember that the baby must see what is being said. If you eat, talk about delicious porridge and a round plate. As you prepare for bed, learn the verb "sleep" and bedding.

Here are some more helpful tips:

• Make sure that your speech does not consist only of nouns. Avoid phrases: "This is a car." Describe her: "Look how big the car is! It's red and it can go fast, fast. Do you remember how the car hums? That's right, "beep".
• Actively use onomatopoeia, ask the child to reproduce them, changing the volume, intonation.
• Look at picture books, learn new words from them.
• Ask your child more often, then pause ("Where is our red cube?"). If the baby is silent, answer for him yourself ("Here he is! Give him to me!"). Avoid any coercion.
• Play together with dolls, cars, soft toys. Organizing a zoo, you will repeat the names of animals. While transporting bricks to build a tower in a truck, learn a lot of new verbs, deal with directions, the concepts of "big-small", "fast-slow".
• Respond correctly to your child's pointing gestures. Do not rush to immediately submit the required item. Ask: "What do you want?" Pause, then continue: "You're thirsty, aren't you? Okay, I'll get you some water now."

Speech development in children at 1.5 years old

Until this age, babies don't talk much. They are dominated by passive accumulation of vocabulary. But from one and a half years, according to the norms, active mastery of speech begins. The kid repeats everything after those around him, while confusing syllables, skipping sounds or replacing them with others. The same word is used in different meanings and can be understood only on the basis of the situation. "Baba" can mean that the grandmother came to visit or, conversely, left. Or maybe it was she who gave this toy.

Closer to 2 years old, children begin to combine two words into phrases ("give the ball"), deal with numbers, cases, faces. All this requires the active participation of adults. How to teach a child to talk at a year and a half?

Playing together

All recommendations for one-year-olds remain valid. It is important to talk a lot with the baby, involving him in the dialogue. Speak the words clearly, but it's time to stop stretching the vowels. Don't be afraid to use complex names. Say "dolphin" instead of the generalized "fish". Avoid requests to "repeat", "say" so as not to cause a negative reaction. Children perceive the word "guess" much better.

How to teach a child to talk in the process of a fun game? The following ideas will help you:

• Buy your baby a toy phone, periodically talk to each other on it.
• Speak to your child on behalf of the toy, encouraging dialogue. Let your character confuse the names of items. The kid will definitely want to fix it.
• Get involved in the game that interested the child. If he builds a turret, learn to count the cubes: "one cube, two cubes" and destroy the building with a joyful "Bang!" If your daughter is rattling dishes, offer to cook dinner for the dolls. Be interested in what you will cook - porridge or soup? Invite the baby to try the dish: is there enough s alt, sugar?

Speech development in children at 2 years old

By this age, babies should be able to speak between 100 and 300 words. During the year, their vocabulary is actively replenished with verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs and other parts of speech. Children say simple sentences, they themselves ask questions to adults. By the age of three, the number of "incomprehensible" words is significantly reduced, the first "why" appear. There are approximately 1000 words in the active dictionary.

However, the question of how to teach a child to speak clearly has not yet been raised. Sound distortions are quite acceptable, especially in complex words of 3-4 syllables. Most often, babies pronounce hissing sounds incorrectly, as well as sonorants ("p", "l").

What parents should do

How to teach a child to talk at two years old? At this time, children already understand verbal instructions, recognize objects by description ("take a red small ball"). To expand vocabulary, complex classes are well suited, when one topic is studied during the week (the so-calledThemed Weeks. For example, you are going through the names of fruits and vegetables.

Your week might include:

• information block (reading fairy tales and poems on the topic, watching cartoons, presentations, playing with cards);
• coloring pictures, modeling vegetables from plasticine, creating simple applications;
• finger games;
• a visit to a real garden;
• help mom make salad or soup;
• role-playing games, during which the baby helps the toys to harvest, cooks soup for the bunny.

Develop fingers

Speech therapists have long known how to teach a child to talk in a short time. It is necessary to pay close attention to the development of fine motor skills. Parents can rub and stroke the hands of a two-month-old baby. From six months, it's time for finger games. Buy toys with buttons, blocks and construction sets. From about a year old, children cope with liners, by the age of two, you can buy mosaics, large puzzles, lacing.

As early as possible, start drawing with your baby, sculpt from dough and plasticine, play with cereals, make simple crafts, applications. The more fingers are loaded, the more successful the child's speech development is.

Reading books

Are you tormented by the question of how to teach a child to speak in sentences? Stock up on children's fairy tales, poems, nursery rhymes. You can use them from birth. Read fairy tales emotionally, imitating the voices of the characters. If the child has difficulty concentrating on the story,look at the pictures. Tell what is drawn on them, ask to find a familiar character.

For the development of speech, it is useful to learn short poems, stage fairy tales with the help of toys, cards. From the age of two, a child can take on the role of one of the characters, pronouncing his words.

Speak clearly

How to teach a child to speak correctly without a speech therapist? If the baby does not have physiological problems, it is enough for him to hear the correct speech without "lisping". Although purposeful work on the development of the speech apparatus will also not be superfluous. Teach a one-year-old baby to drink through a straw, chew hard fruits, crackers. Build grimaces, imitate sounds: porridge snorts - "pf", a mosquito buzzes - "i-i-i".

Special articulatory gymnastics will develop the muscles of the tongue. The simplest exercises can be repeated by a baby at 8 months, but it is better to start regular exercises at 2 years. At this age, they are used to prevent violations. If a child after 5-6 years of age has certain speech defects, special exercises are selected to correct these shortcomings.

When do you need expert help?

Let's be honest: there are times when a consultation with a speech therapist is necessary. What signs indicate this? Let's list them:

• Baby 8 months and older does not make contact with other people, does not understand the question: "Where is mom?".
• At 2 years old, the baby does not say a single word.
• By 2.5 years old, the child does not speak simple phrases ("I wantdrink", "where is daddy?").
• At 3 years old, a child communicates in "their" language, while there are practically no "adult" words in his lexicon.
• Speech appeared and then suddenly disappeared.
• Baby 4-5 years old speaks unintelligibly, distorting words beyond recognition.
• Baby stutters.
• After 5 years, not all sounds are pronounced correctly.

If you are worried about how to teach a child to talk, pay attention to one more thing. The psychological comfort of the baby is very important. When there is discord in the family, the child does not feel safe. He has no desire to express himself, to make contact. Therefore, hug your heir more often, say how much you love him, how proud you are of every achievement. And then everything will definitely work out.