In my own words, I'm more of an aha-mom than an alpha-mom.
For example, last year, if you've already been reading this blog then, you will see some monthly posts where I listed Yuri's new words. Aside from serving as milestone posts (I don't trust myself with a paper), they actually serve a real reason (which I will tell you later).
Before I tackle the "tips" or the ways I did to try to stimulate his language development, let me repeat that I'm no expert - just an ordinary mom who happens to love learning. I don't think it would harm anyone of you to read and try these tips but do manage your expectations! Hehehe.
Are you ready? Here they go:
1. As an entire household, don't have moments of silence. Don't stop talking.
We didn't have any problems with these because we all love talking. In fact, the only time our home fully quiets down is when Yuri is sleeping. I think it's crucial to let the child see and hear and be aware of talking, and we all know how babies love mimicking adults.
Tip: If you are a quiet person, make an effort to always talk. No quiet time (or worse, gadget time!) please! If you find it awkward, tell your child about the activities you do. For example, "I'm washing my hands!" Or "Gusto mo maghugas ng kamay?"
2. In connection to number 1, get a talkative yaya or caregiver.
This is, of course, optional as many households don't find the need for helpers. But if this is your situation like me, avoid yayas who are too timid and shy. Worse, avoid hiring yayas who only stare at a corner and speak only a word or two.
As the child's secondary caregiver, they are with them for a big part of the day. That part of the day should be filled with fun and stimulating activities, not staring time (or worse, TV time).
I'm blessed to have a yaya who always talks. As in. It has its downfalls in other aspects, but I attribute part of Yuri's vocabulary development to her. If she's not talking to Yuri - she's mostly talks about other people (neighbors) - she's singing. Good enough for me.
Of course, this doesn't include shouting and saying of bad words. Those are not tolerated.
3. Do not use baby talk. At all.
Thankfully, I learned about this way before I became a mom. When I was in gradeschool and my younger sister was born, we were under strict command to never use baby talk like "yayay." So from the time Yuri was born, he only heard adult or real words.
4. Let the child "sense" words.
I don't know if you realize this, but it's so easy to teach a child "empty" words or words without meaning. It's detrimental because the child doesn't understand the relevance of the word.
For example, some people may tell their children, "Baby, say table." That's fine,right? Only if you have an actual table with you.
I'm gonna put on my Comm Arts major hat here and hope I get the concepts right haha. You see, aside from syntax or the formation of words (letters for example) and their grammar, another important concept in language development is semantics or meaning. For example,if you're learning a particular foreign word, you need to know what it means so that you can use it in speech. You can't use the word "ai" in speech if you don't know it means "love."
Similarly, for a baby, they need to know what words mean. They are sensory creatures so they need to sense words. For example, if you're sitting on a chair, tell the baby it's a chair. If you feel a strong gust of wind, tell him it's wind. But if you say "baby, say dog" without the child seeing an actual dog? Useless. Your goal is not for the child to just repeat words but also to understand them.
5. Make a list of the words that your child already knows how to say.
This is what I meant. Listing words is not for bragging purposes but actually for tracking purposes. It is important to keep track of the words the child can say so that you get to have a concrete idea of how he develops.
Through an actual list (as opposed to a mental list) of words, it is easy to see what kind of words the child leans toward. For example, is he learning animal names most rapidly? You can take advantage of that and buy animal books to boost his verbal development.
In Yuri's case, aside from cars and vehicles, he also got interested in body parts, so when I bought him a book about that, he learned even more words. I wouldn't have noticed the inclination had it not been for a list of words!
6. As a household, speak one language.
Yuri has a half-American playmate, Scotty, who is a month older than he is. During playdates, his dad would tell me that his son just wouldn't speak. He knows the reason: they speak multiple languages at home.
He speaks English while his wife and her family speak Tagalog and Bisaya. Therefore, it's confusing for the toddler. If you think about it, it's pretty confusing if you see people refer to the same thing and call it by different names. Which one should you follow?
Households should attempt to use a unified language toward the child. That is the reason why Yuri dominantly speaks using Tagalog. We are not English speakers, and if we ever use Bisaya, we use it not toward Yuri to avoid confusion.
If you live in a multiple language household, do make the effort to speak a unified language first. Once the child gets older or gets a better hang of speaking, you can slowly introduce another language.
7. Read, read, read!
I think all parenting books will agree with me that there's no better thing you can do for a child's mental development than reading with him. I don't know how, but reading aloud really stimulates their verbal capacities.
Reading is also essential because it makes the children know what words are and that they are meant to be read. I see this in how Yuri would pick up a book and make mumbling sounds as if he's "reading."
What I like about reading is that I can teach Yuri words that are not in our environment. For example, his favorite book now is Owl Babies, and he learns not only about owls but also about their environment.
It also gives me a chance to teach him words which I will never show him in real life. Examples are caterpillars and butterflies. Sorry, Yuri. Someone else will show them to you. Hahaha.
8. Always affirm but never over-praise.
I think it's the same as potty-training: once the child "gets" what you are teaching him to do, it is right to praise and affirm him for doing well. However, if your child is one who doesn't relish being in the center of attention or if your child is like mine who gets stubborn once in a while, do not make a huge deal out of it. Just smile, clap, and tell baby she's doing well, but don't make it obvious that it's a big deal for you. Maybe celebrate but only after he falls asleep haha. Also, do not use snacks as reward or motivation!
9. Make speaking fun!
I'm not sure whether toddlers actually get bored or not because mine never gets bored. However, to avoid being stuck in a rut, it is always wise to veer away from plain teaching to play-teaching!
Yuri enjoys repeating words, but sometimes, he chooses to ignore me. In that case, I drop teaching the word and teach him fun related sounds instead. For example, when he was months younger, he found it hard to say "dinosaur" and got tired of doing it. What I did was stop making him say that and taught him the "dinosaur language" instead!
Suffice to say, scaring people with a dinosaur ROAR is still one of his favorite things to do. Here's a dim video hehe:
Sorry madilim. Gabi na kasi.
And guess what? Eventually, he did learn how to say dinosaur!
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I know I only had a limited experience about encouraging a child to speak, so for more seasoned moms out there, feel free to add more tips!
How did you encourage your little one to speak?
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