From the age of 6 months, your baby gradually begins to babble basic words. At this time, teaching your baby to speak is one of the activities parents need to prioritize.
What do parents need to do to teach their babies to talk early?
Children often listen to adults talk and learn simple words. Parents can completely support their children by teaching them to speak as follows:
- Observe: Parents need to observe children's interactive actions and then patiently repeat the name of that activity each time their child does it. For example, when your baby raises his arms towards you, say: "You want a hug, let's hug!" Gradually, children will understand the words that define each of their actions.
- Listening: Parents should listen to the sounds their children are babbling to understand what word they are talking about, then say the exact word again for their children to learn. Children love to imitate their parents' way of speaking and intonation, so you absolutely should not babble after them. This may sound cute but will accidentally cause your child to remember the wrong pronunciation.
Listen to correct your child's words
- Praise: When children say the right word, parents should cheer for them by smiling and applauding. When your efforts receive positive feedback, your baby will enjoy talking more. This is also an important factor in the process of teaching your baby to talk .
- Explain: Children who are learning to speak do not yet know how to express their needs through communication, so they easily cause aggressive actions such as screaming, hitting tables and chairs, throwing toys... at times like that. Hey, parents should not immediately satisfy their child's wishes but should point to the object the child wants and ask: "You want this, right?" Or do you want me to help you put your things away?”
Parents should explain instead of responding immediately so that their children can practice expressing their own needs
- Be patient: When children first learn to speak, they will certainly not understand what you want to express. However, keep trying, constantly repeating what you want to say to your child.
Methods of teaching children to talk
Talk to your baby often
Children need to listen first, then practice speaking. Parents should regularly talk to their children from an early age to practice the habit of expressing themselves verbally. According to some research from experts, babies whose parents talk to them will learn to speak earlier than babies whose parents rarely talk to them.
Ask children questions
Children are inherently curious and need to explore the world around them. So while children are learning about the surrounding environment in their own way, parents need to accompany their children and ask questions. Children will be very excited to share the "achievements" they discover with their parents, from which their communication skills will also develop outstandingly.
Appropriate questions also stimulate children's desire to explore
Play games or listen to music
You can create many games to teach children to talk, for example, imitating animal sounds, counting numbers... If your child loves fun melodies, parents can also let their children listen to music that teaches them to practice. say : a duck, a swimming goldfish, five good fingers...
Children's songs are also a way to help children practice speaking. The combination of words and melodies will help children focus on listening, as well as help their pronunciation learning process.
Many parents are worried that their singing voice is not good so they do not want to follow this method of teaching their baby to speak . But your baby won't care about whether it's good or bad, he only knows that this is the singing voice of his parents - the people he loves the most. Parents, don't be shy and sing along with your children.
Tell stories and narrate activities
You can absolutely teach your child to say simple words through books that teach him how to speak . Storytelling can take place during leisure time or before bedtime to create good habits for children.
Teaching your baby to talk doesn't only happen during speaking time, but also during daily activities. When you change your child's clothes, say: "Mom, put this white shirt on me!" Mom put me a red beanie too!” to help your baby listen more and practice speaking more.
Choose appropriate books that teach your baby how to practice
Talk about issues that interest your child
Focusing on topics that your child is interested in is the way to teach children to speak properly. Parents should use short sentences to teach their children to say their favorite animals, colors, and fruits. For example: "That car is so big!", "Grandparents are coming to play!", "My toys are on the table.",...
The child has a speech delay, what should parents do?
If parents try very hard to teach their children to speak, constantly talk and sing to their children but the child still cannot remember, then it is very likely that the child has a speech delay. The reason children are slow to speak can come from parents accidentally missing a good time to practice talking for their children or a damaged part of the brain that makes the child unable to remember the words their parents taught them.
It cannot be ruled out that the child has a speech delay so he cannot remember what his parents taught him
After observing signs of a child's delayed speech, parents need to take some other specific measures. Refer to the article: Optimal methods to teach children with slow speech at home to know how to do it. Don't forget to take your baby to see a doctor to receive the most accurate diagnosis.
Teaching a baby to talk is a long journey, Mykingdom knows this must be very difficult for parents. But little angels coming to us is the happiest thing, Mykingdom hopes that each child will be loved and tolerated by their parents.
