October 2020 -

YES OR NO?

If you are a parent/caregiver of a toddler, you already know the majority of your day is spent teaching them there are limits to set for their curious minds! Often the word “no” occurs more than we would like sometimes. When your child begins to use it, it can be overwhelming to teach them whin it is o.k. to use it and when it’s not. Sometimes, children say “no” when they actually mean “yes”. Not only is the word an easier sound combination for some children, but Although hearing “no” from your toddler all day long can be difficult, it is important to remember “no” is an essential word! We have to use it to answer questions and to make choices/decisions all the time. There are many ways to help your child learn to answer “yes” or “no” accurately. For children who are experiencing difficulty expressing themselves, it can be one of the most helpful ways for them to communicate with others. The following are examples to help your child learn to respond “yes” or “no” accurately:

“YES”

Adult: Do you want cheerios or crackers?

Child: Gestures toward cheerios(with or without verbalizing

Adult: You want cheerios?*

Child: Imitates nodding head and makes attempt to imitate the word

*Hold the cheerios up to your face while nodding “yes” before giving them the cheerios while modeling “yes”*

“NO”

Adult: I found your boat!(Playing in the bathtub) Does it go up in the sky?

Child: Giggles or gets frustrated

Adult: No, that’s silly!(Try it in a silly voice while shaking your head)

Child: Laughs and imitate “no”

*Plop it in the water to play*

These strategies can work in almost every routine and activity we engage in with our children! If you have any questions, feel free to message me!

*Important to remember: Give your child time to respond to questions depending on their level of frustration in the moment. Typically it is recommended 3-5 seconds of wait time.*

TIME FOR A PUPPET SHOW!

Since we have moved to a more electronic society, we often forget about a good old-fashioned puppet show! What is the benefit of pretend play using puppets? It can engage and encourage your child to use their imagination to “talk” to you! Whether homemade or store bought, you can teach your child to explore their voice and imitate words while making their puppets talk! Get creative and you can model words you would like to hear your child use to express themselves during everyday routines. For example, if your child is struggling to ask for the food or drink they want, you can use a puppet to model “Milk please”. Then pretend to give the puppet a cup of milk since they “asked”. Using puppets is also a great way to show them turn taking and making choices. Use the puppets to create scenarios that may happen in your daily activities to model language and behaviors you want to see your child utilize. In addition, they may notice that the puppets mouth is moving while they are “using words”(if it is a puppet made that your hands make their mouths move)and be more motivated to use their own mouths! Let’s bring back the imagination and creativity of puppet shows😊 You might be surprised how many words they will begin to use!

**Provide choices so they can learn names of the puppets, model sounds if you use animal puppets, take turns and show them how to share with the puppets, model words to make the puppets “talk”, use your imagination so they are building their own**

BLOCK PLAY!

It may seem simple, but playing blocks can be a great way to teach your child many concepts and words while having fun! Whether they are Legos, classic wooden blocks, or anything in between, the most obvious concept they are learning is “up” and “down”. As they learn to stack, you can model “up-up-up”. For most children, it is often even more fun to knock them “down”. You can count “1, 2, 3, down!” for you child to knock them over. Then you can model “boom!” when they fall. Remember, children LOVE to imitate silly sounds! For older children, you can teach them colors. For example, they can begin to sort them while you model “Let’s find all the red blocks.”, “Can you help me?”. Some blocks have pictures on them. While they stack the blocks, you can name what the picture on them are so they can imitate and build vocabulary. Some have letters and numbers. When they are old enough, you can begin to point them out so they become aware of print. Even more helpful in the preschool years, as you teach letters of the alphabet, give them a word to correspond to the letter(B is for ball). Also, if you get creative, you can begin to label what you or your child build. For example, “I made a house.”, “What did you make?” or “Do you want to make a house or a garage for your cars?”. You can incorporate turn taking as you build, modeling “My turn”, “Now your turn”. Although blocks are a simple, classic toy, there are so many things to learn with them!

Sounds/words to include: blocks, up, down, on top, big, little, tower, house, castle, boom, colors, name of pictures on blocks, etc.

WHY DOES EVERYTHING GO IN THEIR MOUTHS?

As parents, we want what is best for our babies. We want to make sure they are safe, they are healthy, and what goes in their mouths is clean. As soon as they are able to pick up, grasp, and move their hands to their mouths, they will put things in there😊. Inevitably, we then have to make sure it’s not something they will potentially choke on or get sick from. Babies can begin teething as early as 4 months! Although we don’t want them to put EVERYTHING in their mouths, this is a developmental stage and important for both feeding and speech development. As you begin to notice their hands going in their mouths more often, they will begin to try other objects as well, sometimes even your fingers or hands! This is when we as parents, can provide them objects that are appropriate. In this day and age, we can easily look for objects to provide them at a click of a button. Many toys you may already have for them could have different textures on parts of them just for teething so definitely check it out. Let them explore(safely)! As they put things in their mouths, they are learning a hand to mouth connection, important for feeding development. In addition, this gives them the opportunity to build awareness of the structures in their mouths, how they can move them, and different sounds they can produce with these movements. It also helps with the pain of teething and break those teeth through the gums. So, before you take that toy they just put in their mouth out, assess if it’s safe, clean, and appropriate. If it is, let them keep exploring!

*If your baby isn’t going through this stage, struggling with feeding, and not beginning to make more sounds, contact your pediatrician to inquire about you local Early Intervention program.

**Nobody Evert Told Me(or My Mother) That! By: Diane Bahr