I'll be glad when I get my Mobile
However talking and walking stages in your chid's development are often reversed in order, so if you haven't sought information on walking yet go to http://babywalking-admin.blogspot.com/ where you will find help!
What to Do If Your Toddler is Not Talking Yet
If all of your friends toddlers are babbling away and your toddler is not talking yet you may have reason to become concerned. One of the things parents often use to gauge their child's development is how early they start talking. Babies start off experimenting with noises from an early age, usually consisting of babbling noises, the typical "goo goo" and "gaa gaa" sounds, these will turn into "ma ma" and "da da". These babbling sounds eventually progress into Mommy and Daddy. So how do you determine whether your child has delayed speech development and what do you do if your toddler is not talking yet
On a daily basis your child will find different ways to shape their mouth and change the noise they are making; the first step in their speech development. Parents naturally spend a great deal of time talking to their baby's but they do this instinctually and mostly to enjoy the social interaction it offers. Many don't realize that this is also essential for the development of their speech and language skills.
Babies recognize the sound of their parent's voices from even before birth; they become familiar with us when they are in the womb. Parent's voices are comforting for them, especially for newborns before their vision is fully developed. Babies and toddlers mimic their parents; that's how they learn. The more verbal communication you engage in with your child, the faster they will learn.
By the time your child is the age of twelve to eighteen months your baby should be saying words like Mommy and Daddy. Over the next year of your child's speech development, they will learn to put together small sentences and communicate their needs to their family members. By the age of 21 months most children can be understood by their family. If your child cannot communicate with family members and be understood by the age of 30 months there would be cause for concern. At any stage, if your child is not meeting the age appropriate developmental timelines you should seek professional opinion. Trust your instincts, more often than not parents know best.
If your toddler isn't talking yet there are things you can do to encourage speech development. Keyword signing, otherwise known as baby sign language has been shown by researchers to increase language acquisition by up to 3 months. Children using sign language have the language re-enforced to them by the parent as the gestures are used in conjunction with the word. Parent's who use sign language with their children are often more aware of their communication with their baby's and flood them with language on a daily basis. Gesture based baby sign language also improves word comprehension as the gesture is a natural movement that mimics the meaning of the word. Reading to your child is another important strategy that will go a long way to improving your child's language skills. When they are exposed to reading at an early age they pick up on the way language ebbs and flows and are more likely to have an interest in books later on.
So if you are concerned that your toddler is not talking yet, assess the developmental timeline as make sure they are reaching the recommended milestones. Not all babies develop at the same rate and the normal range can differ by months. If you are looking for ways to encourage speech development because your toddler is not talking yet, keyword signing and reading are both great places to start.
About the Author: Lisa Baade is the Author of Toddler Interpreter, A Parent's Guide to Baby Sign Language for Hearing Babies and Toddlers.
Teaching a simple keyword based communication tool such as Baby Sign Language can help to accelerate your child's speech comprehension and development. More importantly it can also provide an invaluable head start if you find out later that they suffer from a speech delay. For more information visit Toddler Interpreter.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_Baade
Talking WITH Toddlers is Different Than Talking AT Infants
Toddlers are ready to be "talked with" rather than "talked at." The lengthy sentences and questions we surround infants with so they get the overall "speech envelope" of language are not as helpful to language-learning toddlers.
What really helps toddlers is when parents are talking partners rather than "quizzers" (that's a nicer word than interrogators!) If you really want to encourage word use, reduce the use of direct questions and increase the use of statements.
In my 34 years as a speech-language pathologist working exclusively with children and their parents, most parents have told me that they ask their young children who are not talking yet a lot of questions. Many have told me it is upwards of 80 percent. That's a lot of questions! I think parents do this hoping they will actually get an answer which will validate their wish that their child will start talking soon. Unfortunately, such excessive use of questioning works against the child's learning process, and the child is less likely to talk when questioned.
It may seem difficult initially to change all of your questions into statements, but it is possible to do it. For example, instead of asking a toddler, "What do you see?" or, "Do you see that jet?" you can simply state the obvious, "I see a jet way up high in the sky!"
Once you make a full sentence, then systematically reduce it to a phrase and then to a key word--and sometimes right down to the vowel sound from the word or a sound effect. Doing this "filters" the rapid flow of speech so your child gets a chance to grasp what the best word is to match an experience and how to say that word.
Here's an example using the sentence I wrote above. You will see that each utterance is shorter than the previous one. "I see a jet way up high in the sky!" "That's a fast jet. Fast jet. Jet! Zzzzzoooooommm!" Pause to wait for an imitation if the child is ready to try.
I call this process of systematically reducing the length of a sentence the "Upside-Down Pyramid" way of talking with young children so they can learn to start talking or to talk better. My ideas are practical and are intended to be used throughout the day during a family's usual activities and routines. Many parents have indicated that they got results right away as soon as they stopped asking so many questions and learned how to present statements in this new way. When you are ready, you can learn to use this method, too.
Mary Lou B. Johnson, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a speech-language pathologist with 34 years of experience working with children and their families at The Children's Hospital, Denver.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mary_Lou_Johnson
If you are in fact a more advanced stage of parenthood and are up to the stage of "baby's" life where reading is now requiring your attention take a look in http://teachyourchildtoread-admin.blogspot.com/ where you will find advice and food for thought!
However if you came to this blog seeking help on earlier stages of your child's development, such as walking, go to http://babywalking-admin.blogspot.com/ , potty training go to http://howtopottytrain-admin.blogspot.com/ or getting baby to sleep through the night, go to http://howtogetbabysleepingthrothenight.blogspot.com/ .
Enjoy the addition of this little person to your family!
