At this age, most children would have about 1 to 5 words in their vocabulary. Usually, it includes words like ‘mama’, ‘dada’, and possibly the name of a sibling or pet. It might also include commonly used words like ‘want’ or ‘more’. What if your child isn’t talking yet? It’s still considered normal at this stage, but there are certainly things you can do to put them on the right track.
Materials required: some open-ended toys that your child likes. We’ll be using toys from our 14-16 months kit as examples.
- 1. Take turns
Toys that encourage social interaction are great for encouraging speech. Since young children don’t know how to share yet, taking turns is the best way to engage with them. For example, you can take turns catching bugs with our Bug Catching Set.
- 2. Match the colors
At this age, your child is ready to learn about colors. While they may not identify colors for another year, they can begin matching and sorting. Naming and matching colors are great for receptive language development, as your child can begin to build associations between the color names and what it looks like. You can do this with our Hide and Seek Pyramid.
- 3. Explore themes
Create a themed ‘language basket’ with things around your home. For example, your theme can be ‘food’ and you can include different kinds of food in your basket. Let your child explore the items while you talk to them. Some talking ideas: what are the objects called? What do they feel like? What color are they? What are they used for? What do they smell like?
- 4. Go outdoors
Children are naturally curious about nature - they’ll enjoy looking at little ants, birds, leaves, and even puddles. Go outdoors with the Explorer’s Magnifying Glass from our kit and talk about anything they find. Nature provides many talking points!
- 5. Remember serve and return
If you don't know what this is, check out our article here. Serve and return still applies at this age, especially with children who aren’t talking yet. The back-and-forth elements of serve and return are important precursors to learning about communication.
