When you do something with your child and you describe what’s happening, you're helping them link the words they hear to the things they're interested in.
Watch Dad describe everyday actions to his toddler, like a football commentator.
How describing what they're interested in helps your child
It helps them to:
- Hear the language they will need to talk about what interests them. This will help them learn words more quickly
- Link the words they hear to what’s happening and understand their meanings
There are lots of action and descriptive words to be learned from different everyday routines, such as going for a walk, getting dressed or having a bath.
Use action words to describe what you're doing but don't feel like you have go into lots of detail. Short, simple sentences will work best as this can help your little one understand how words link to actions.
If your child does say something, repeat it back to them and add a word. If they say "pear", you can reply with "tasty pear".
Your child might try to repeat your short sentence back to you.
