“What every parent should know...”

We all know that being or becoming a parent is hard. Whether it is your 1^st or your 4^th child.

 You get up in the early hours of the morning; you feed, bathe and pamper your little one. Then it comes to the stage of teaching your little mite how to speak. You ask yourself all these questions. Will they be able to speak clearly, or will they pronounce words really badly, like what was said in the Ogden Nash poem, it must be milk? Here are a few tips into helping your baby into speaking clearly- what every parent should know:

       Repeat words regularly.  (Your child will eventually be able to identify these repeated words)

      Their language will develop by what you say (They copy you- mind your language!)

         Be consistent. ( Tell the same story every night, they start to understand and copy you)

        Use simple instructions, will help them know who is in charge. ( E.G. ‘push the bus’ )

         Point to a body parts.  (This will help them to understand the body function).

       Be firm (when your child isn’t communicating properly, keep repeating the correct term- EG: ‘Please’ ‘Please’ – this should help your child to identify what is the correct language to use.

 

A question frequently used by parent; ‘When do I know if my child is finally speaking’

When parents say they notice their baby’s first words they claim they are beginning to talk. They are incorrect according to child language expert Andrew Wilkinson as he says that words by themselves do not make up language. He illustrates that a baby may cry ‘momma’ but adds that this can be used for a number of reasons; for example: The child may be in distress or may want attention and that is why they call out single words to demonstrate a number of things that they may have wanted.

 

Children copy what you do, so mind your language…