Helping your child meet milestones during the first 3 years!
From the moment our babies are born, we watch them with a careful eye and wonder if they are doing everything they should be doing. Are they meeting their milestones? Should we be doing more? Chances are, you are already doing so many amazing things to support your little one's development! However, you may be wondering if there is more you can do to keep your little one on track with meeting milestones? We have put together a list so you can help your little one stay on track!
If you feel like your child is not where they should be developmentally, or you have concerns, talk to your pediatrician and possibly a speech-language pathologist!
The first year (birth to 12 months)
Your little one may not be saying words yet; however, there are still many communication milestones that develop within the first year! These milestones are precursors to first words and conversations. They teach turn-taking and communicative intent that are important to conversation skills. Babies can quickly change and develop new skills during their first 12 months, and there are things you can do to help them meet speech and language milestones!
Pay attention to your baby’s hearing! Make sure they turn towards noises and look at you when you talk! If you suspect any ear problems or infections, speak to your pediatrician.
Respond to your baby when they make noises by talking to them and imitating sounds they make.
Laugh when your baby laughs!
Imitate your baby’s facial expressions!
Teach your baby to copy actions, like peek-a-boo, clapping, blowing kisses, and waving bye-bye.
Talk about what you do during the day! Say things like “Mommy is washing your fingers!” and “You are eating blueberries!”
Talk about where you go, what you do there, and who and what you see. Say things like, “We are going to Grandma’s house. Grandma has a dog. You can pet the dog.”
Teach animal sounds, like “A cow says moo!”
Read to your child every day! Reading is a great way to form connections, learn new words, and practice many of the skills mentioned above!
How can you support speech and language between 12-24 months?
After your child turns 12 months old, speech development milestones focus a lot on talking! By 24 months, your child should be starting to put two words together and building their vocabulary, with a minimum of 50 words. So, what can you do to help your child reach these critical milestones?
Talk to your child as you do things and go places! For example, when taking a walk, point to and name what you see. Say something like, “I see a dog. The dog says, ‘woof.’ This is a big dog. This dog is brown.”
Use short words and sentences that your child can imitate.
Use correct grammar. You don’t need to correct your child, but rather show them how to say things the right way by repeating what they say back to them, using the correct sounds and grammar.
Talk about sounds around your house. Listen to the clock tick, and say “t-t-t.”
Play with sounds at bath time! Blow bubbles, and make the sound “b-b-b-b.” Pop bubbles, and make a “p-p-p-p” sound. Engines on toys can make the “rrr-rrr-rrr” sound.
ADD to words your child says. For example, if she says “ball,” you can say, “Ball! Red ball! That is a big red ball!”
Read to your child every day! Keep the books simple! Choose books with many pictures and talk about what you see on each page. Your child can also point to images that you name!
Is your child between 2 and 3 years?
What milestones should they be meeting? Between the ages of two and three, your child should be talking much more! They should be combining 2-3 words and on their way to making short sentences. To help your child meet milestones during the year, consider some of the strategies below:
Use simple words and short sentences. Speak clearly.
Repeat what your child says, and add to it. If they say, "Pretty flower," you can say, "Yes, that is a pretty flower. The flower is red. It smells good. Do you want to smell the flower?"
Let your child know that what they say is important to you. Ask them to repeat things that you do not understand. For example, say, "I know you want a block. Tell me which block you want."
Teach your child new words. Reading is a great way to do this!
Talk about colors and shapes.
Practice counting. Count toes and fingers. Count steps.
Name objects, and talk about the picture on each page of a book.
Use similar words, like mommy, woman, lady, grown-up, adult. Use new words in sentences to help your child learn the meaning.
Help your child group objects into categories, like clothes, food, animals.
Look at family photos, and name the people. Talk about what they are doing in the picture.
Write simple phrases under pictures. For example, "I can swim" or "Happy birthday to Daddy." Your child will start to understand that the letters mean something.
Ask your child to make a choice instead of giving a "yes" or "no" answer. For example, rather than asking, "Do you want milk?" ask, "Would you like milk or water?" Be sure to wait for the answer and then praise them for answering.
Sing songs, play finger games and tell nursery rhymes. These songs and games teach your child about the rhythm and sounds of language. 🎶
Sources:
“Birth to One Year.” American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, ASHA, www.asha.org/public/speech/development/01/. Accessed 7/20/2020
“One to Two Years.” American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, ASHA, www.asha.org/public/speech/development/12/. Accessed on 7/16/2020.
“Two to Three Years".” American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, ASHA. www.asha.org/public/speech/development/23/. Accessed on 7/19/2020.
