Let’s Get Chatting

Daily chatter really matters! When talking and listening during everyday routines, children hear and use new words. This helps them to learn about the world around them. It can be as simple as counting as you are doing up your child’s buttons or talking about the birds you see in the park. Making something together, like a sandwich, gives you lots to talk about! Use action words like cut, spread, slice and sequence words like first, next, then, finally. Daily chatter builds confidence to talk. Then children feel able to let their new teacher know what they want, ask questions, and talk to other children.

Sharing a book together will help your child’s language development at any age. For children who will be going to school soon, it is especially valuable. Let your child take the lead and turn the pages. Talk about the pictures. Children love to hear the same book again and again! This helps them to remember and join in with the words and begin to retell stories. Reading books about school will help them get used to the idea.  Local libraries have a range of children’s books that you can borrow free of charge.

Children are less worried when they know what to expect. Talking to your child, using words related to school can really help. Words like teacher, class, playground, learn, lunch, book bag, uniform, coat peg, PE kit and tidy up. You could take the journey to school before the first day and talk about what you see on the way. If there are events at the school you could join in and then encourage your child to remember and talk about what happened.

When you give your child choices you help them to increase their vocabulary. You could ask “What shall we put on next… socks or vest?” or “would you like an apple or a satsuma?”. There will be lots of decisions for your child to make at school. Decisions they might make are what and who to play with, choosing what to eat at lunch time or which book to bring home to share with you. Giving your child simple and realistic choices will help them to become more independent and responsible. This will also help to build their confidence to make decisions and solve problems.

Talk with your child as you go through their routines such as using the toilet or getting dressed. This will help your child to become more confident with self-care. Talk about what is happening and what to do next. For example, “Now flush the toilet. After that wash your hands, then dry them”. Your child may need to hear just one instruction at a time. Encourage your child to tell you what the routine is.

Children are naturally curious! Noticing things around you and talking about them encourages learning. Listen for sounds together. As you walk to the shops, listen to the sounds you can hear. Who can hear a new sound first? This helps your child to become a good listener. Games that help them to listen to the sound at the beginning or end of a word will also help with reading and writing.

When children are aged 2 and under they may communicate by using their eyes and head to look at things, they might point, use sounds or take your hand. Even crying and getting cross are powerful ways for a young child to communicate! Whichever way your child communicates with you today, responding to them shows that you have received what they are trying to tell you. You can respond by pointing to what they are looking at, making the same noise as them, using a word for what they are showing you, or by naming what they are feeling. Responding warmly to your baby helps to build your special relationship.

Children who are 3 to 5 will really benefit from ‘together time’ with you each day. If you let them take the lead as you play with them, listen out for what they say and respond by answering their questions and adding new words. Adults are often the first to talk, but if you focus on listening to what your child says first and then responding, who knows what you might end up chatting about!

Are you a parent of a child aged 2 or under? Why not try noticing today all the ways that they communicate with you – using their fingers to point, using their eyes to show you, using their voice to make sounds and words – it’s amazing!

Children between 3 and 5 years are understanding so much of what you say and will be communicating more and more of their ideas to you. Noticing their favourite things to talk about can lead to great conversations!

Babies in their first two years of life will become more and more aware of what happens in their daily life. When you chat about what you are looking at together, use simple words to explain what you are doing, and chat during daily routines it helps your baby hear the same simple words every day. This sets them up to be able to learn to use those words themselves as they learn to talk.

Together Time with your child each day can be time set aside to do what interests your child and you can chat with them as you play. This could be looking through a book, playing with toys they like, or chatting about what you both see out of a window in your home. You can ask questions that start with ‘I wonder…?’ to start an interesting conversation.

Asking questions with no right or wrong answers can lead to great conversations with your child about how you both see the world.

It’s amazing that before a baby is even 1 year old they recognise and can get excited when they hear voices coming of the special people in their life. They may show their excitement by kicking or waving their arms or making noises. You can respond with your facial expression and voice to show you are excited to see them too!

Between the ages of 3 and 4 your child’s understanding will grow from the things that happen in their daily life to include lots of different words. They will understand words for different colours and numbers and words such as ‘yesterday’ and ‘tomorrow’. They will understand you when you ask for them to give you a ‘red car’ or ‘three blocks’. If they don’t quite understand these yet, you can help them by using these kind of words during play and daily life.

When you use those words to describe what you’re doing together it helps them hear the words in the right situation. Try not to turn it into a test of what they know, keep it playful!

Pointing is a big step in your child’s communication development. It may start with your child using their whole hand before they use a single finger. Why not try pointing out things to your child so that they can see you doing it and hear the words that go with what you are pointing at.

By age 5 children understand more complicated language such as ‘first’, ‘last’, ‘might’, ‘maybe’, ‘above’ and ‘in between’. It helps when adults model these words in lots of different situations so that children can develop a really good understanding of the more tricky words.

Between the ages of 1 and 2 children learn so many words, especially the ones that they hear you say each day!

At 2 years children usually say about 50 words – things like ‘car’, ‘juice’ and ‘biscuit’. The words they use might not sound the way an adult would say it, they might say ‘tar’ instead of ‘car’. But that’s ok, say the word back to them in the right way – ‘that’s right, a car!’

By age 4 children can use sentences to tell you about their day and things that happened in the past. Most of the words they use will have the correct sounds in them and their sentences will be well formed.

Children generally understand more than they can say. You can see this as they do the things you ask them to do around the home and when you’re playing together. If you notice that your child really struggles to follow your day to day instructions by the time they are 3, it’s a good idea to speak to their early years setting, a Health Visitor or Children’s Centre worker about what support might be helpful.

It’s common for children to have some difficulty with speech sounds as they are learning to talk. You may understand everything your child says because you have tuned into them. But if your chatty four year old is difficult to understand by other adults who chat with them, such as family friends or relatives they don’t see every day, it’s a good idea to speak to their early years setting or school about whether they may need support for their communication.

You can also check how they are developing yourself by visiting the Speech and Language UK website – Child’s Progress Checker

‘Hi, my name is Jayne and I work in the parenting team for Barnardo’s Family Hubs in Plymouth. My main role is to facilitate and deliver antenatal education to pregnant women and their families. Our team advocate and use the Solihull Parenting Approach across all our antenatal groups in Plymouth. The Solihull Approach is gentle and holistic and very well received. Our courses are diverse and inclusive and full of fun and laughter. I deliver a five-week course which gives parents-to-be the essential information about pregnancy, birth and caring for a new baby whilst using the Solihull principles of Containment, Reciprocity and Behaviour Management.

We discuss how by communicating with an unborn baby a parent can form an early and loving bond that will be reciprocated when their baby is born.’

If you are a parent or parent-to-be you are welcome to book a place to support your parenting journey via Plymouth children’s centre receptionists. The courses are free and places book quickly so be sure to get in touch.

‘Hi, I’m Becky, an Ofsted registered childminder in Plymouth. Early Years is my passion, I absolutely adore working with little people and watching them grow and flourish. It is such a privilege to be able to work in a close partnership with parents and be a part of a child’s journey, especially those magical formative years, which shape the future of our children.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and I believe this wholeheartedly. When a parent chooses me to care for their child, I become a part of their village. I am able to support parents with all aspects of their child’s development, not only using my own skills and knowledge as an Early Years professional, but with access to a whole wealth of professionals that can support me, or that I can signpost parents to for extra support at home.

In particular I am passionate about speech and language, there is no greater joy than being able to chat with a toddler; they have the best sense of humour and so much to share. 

I love being able to help children learn to understand and use speech, and I recently completed an Elklan Level 1 Speech and Language Accreditation (Let’s Talk With Under 5’s), so that I am better able to support children in my setting.’

If your child attends childcare, you can ask your childminder or key person how they can support your child’s communication development.

​‘Hello I’m Katrina; I am a Key Worker and the ‘Communication Champion’ in a Plymouth nursery school. Each day I lead group activities which promote speaking and listening skills and support children who maybe struggling in developing language. I use lots of strategies to help children’s communication and language such as visual support and Makaton signing, as well as running various small group language support programmes.

Building children’s confidence and enabling them to communicate effectively is my passion. I value the information and expertise about their child that families share with me and use this as a starting point to talk to them about how they can help their child’s communication skills at home.

I work in partnership with the children’s parents/carers and the nursery school SENCO to identify the next steps children need to take in developing their speaking and listening skills and then put in place agreed plans to help every child succeed.’

‘Hi, we are Becky and Jessica. We Facilitate the Step By Step group at Green Ark Children’s Centre.

This group is for children with a developmental delay and/or additional needs.

Within this group we provide opportunities for communication with the children using fun and engaging activities. We support parents by reinforcing positive communication strategies such as intensive interaction and explore the importance of reducing language and using key words with your child to help develop their understanding.

During our sessions over the terms we have visits from agencies who can offer additional advice and support, such as Speech and Language therapists, Parent Information Advice and Support, Plymouth Parent Carer Voice, Early Years service and Specialist Support workers.

Come along and help your child develop through different fun play ideas and activities.’

‘Hello, my name is Rachel and I’m a Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy Assistant working for Livewell in Plymouth.

I support the work of Speech and Language Therapists by working with children in their homes, in nursery settings and schools. 

I follow the care aims set by the therapists and strive to enable parents, carers, teachers and teaching assistants to support their children with the targets by providing resources for further practice and modelling therapies and techniques. This includes attention and pre-verbal communication, use of sign, pictures, high and low technology, stammering, language and speech sounds errors.

Being able to understand language and communicate with others is key to academic and social success.

I find my job very varied and rewarding and love building relationships with the children I work with and watching them flourish.’