Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Growing independence
Taking care of themselves
Encouraging your child to begin to do things for themselves from an early age is a great way to boost their confidence and self-esteem, as well as develop their resilience and physical skills.
Encourage your child to be as independent as possible at mealtimes by feeding themselves, using child sized cutlery, pouring their own drinks, drinking from an open cup and making food choices.
Make enough time in your daily routine for your toddler to have a go at dressing themselves. Encourage them to and put on their own shoes and coat before you leave the house. Initially they may fasten their own Velcro shoe straps or pull up the zip on their coat; gradually over time allow them to become more independent in dressing.
Play, creativity and curiosity
Introduce your child to lots of different play experiences and join in with them as they play. Act out simple familiar experiences with toys such as making dinner, shopping, or having a tea party, and teach them how to play simple matching games such as Snap and jigsaws. Allow your child to safely explore different materials such paints, playdough, sand, and talk about the different marks and effects they create.
Take your child to different places such as the park, the woods, the library and get outside in different weather and seasons. Talk about the people and places you see.
Building relationships and communicating
Being with others
Playing and talking with your toddler will help them to start to learn simple turn taking. Encourage them to notice what other children nearby are doing and if possible, support them to play alongside other children when with family or friends. Joining a toddler group or club will provide opportunities for both you and your child to meet others.
Communication and language
When you are out and about
Talk about things you hear, see and touch to help your child learn new words. Name it. Describe it. Use the word in a simple sentence. Stressing new words by saying it a little louder and slower than the rest of the sentence will help your child notice them.
Name the actions you see your child doing, as they are doing them, for example, climbing the stairs, or kicking the ball really far.
Activities to try:
- go on a listening walk. Talk together about all the sounds you can hear, support them to recognise the difference in the noise of a motorbike or lorry
- say what you see when your child shows interest in something, for example, 'I see you have noticed that red spotty ladybird on the leaf' and say the new words a little louder
- play games with gestures like a very simple 'Simon says...' or 'do as I'm doing'. Gestures and actions help to keep your child focused and notice the message is for them. It also gives your child an extra way to be understood by others and boosts their confidence to communicate
Listening and engaging in play time
Watch, listen and comment on what your child is doing as they play. You could give a commentary such as 'The big train is chugging up the hill and through the tunnel. Choo Choo'.
Don’t be tempted to fill the silences with lots of questions. After you have asked your child a question or given an instruction, count to 10 in your head before repeating the sentence. This will give your child time to think about what you have said and time to respond.
Repeat back clearly what your child says. Sometimes add new words to expand on what your child says – for example, child says 'car' – you could say 'mummy's blue car'. Child says 'dog' - you might say 'Yes, the dog is wagging his tail'.
Singing nursery rhymes and reading stories will expose your toddler to lots of new words. Repeat the same stories and rhymes lots of times so your toddler gets to know them well and gain confidence to join in.
Physical development
Provide lots of opportunities for your child to learn to move in different ways. For example, dancing to music, crawling, rolling, running, climbing on appropriate play equipment and using wheeled toys. Play games such as moving fast or slow, hide and seek where they can squeeze into spaces and stay still, or move like different animals.
Healthy routines
Establishing routines from an early age will provide structure and consistency that contributes to your child's healthy development both physically and emotionally. Talking with them about your daily routines using language such now, next, after that, this afternoon, tomorrow will help your toddler start to sequence simple events and feel secure from the predictability of their day.
Mealtimes
Mealtimes are a great opportunity for talk as you involve your toddler in setting the table, serving out food and talking about different foods. Talk about colour, taste, texture, how many plates, cups needed. You can start to develop healthy eating habits as you talk about which food groups are good for them and which foods are unhealthy.
Bathtime
Making bathtime fun by playing games and talking will ensure it becomes part of the daily routine your child looks forward to. You could talk about how the ducks 'splish splash' in the water, how some toys float and sink, and even recreate simple rhymes such as 5 speckled frogs.
Bedtime
Having a consistent and predictable routine will help your child settle to sleep more quickly. Spending a few special moments talking about the day and what might be happening tomorrow is a great way to end the day. And finally, snuggle up for a bedtime story and talk about the characters or illustrations in the book.
Further ideas
For more ideas talk to your health visitor, children’s centre, nursery or school about Derbyshire ECaT: Every Child a Talker.