Stimulation of speech development at the age of 15-18 months

Stimulation of speech development at the age of 15-18 months

A child’s vocabulary increases from the moment he begins to listen to the conversations that take place around him. He can use a few words – and understand the literal meaning of over a hundred words, he also makes his first attempts to create two-word phrases. You will quickly discover that there is a certain word that a child uses with passion, and hates when someone else says it, addressing a toddler. That word is “no”!

Practical advice

In addition to attracting his attention and improving his listening skills, encouraging eye contact while talking to him is an important skill that will help him connect with other children as he gets older. You may notice that your baby doesn’t seem to listen to you if he doesn’t look you in the eye, so position yourself in such a way that you can look at each other undisturbed.

His imagination develops very quickly and you can use this to stimulate verbal skills and inspire your little one to use words. You can talk to stuffed toys and pretend that they respond. The toddler will very quickly join this type of games that require the use of imagination; Soon he will also be able to tell you what his toys are called and report on everything that happened to the animals. A toy phone is also a good solution for this age.

He will have a lot of fun chattering into the phone, talking to a friend, grandparent or other family member.

Although your little one usually has a lot to say about himself, there will be times when he will express his thoughts and feelings in such a slow way that it will irritate you and maybe even bring you to the brink of despair. Let him think, the child needs a few moments to find the right word he wants to use. So show enough patience.

At this age, the baby begins to learn the names of individual parts of the body. A good time to feel these words is when you take a bath or undress for sleep. Try to keep the activity informal and fun. In this way, you can move on to naming familiar objects in the house. This will certainly help him develop his vocabulary.

Read to a small child

Reading to a two- or three-year-old child is one of the most important activities contributing to his or her verbal development. Research has shown that children who listen to fairy tales read to them by their parents for about 10-15 minutes a day develop linguistically faster than their peers who have not had the opportunity to experience a “fairy tale experience”. Your little one can enrich their language skills by using other sources, such as television, video tapes, but live reading has something special and unique about it, which uses their imagination and enthusiasm to a much greater extent than other forms.

When you have attracted your child’s full attention, use the moments to point out and name familiar objects or objects, such as parts of the baby’s body.

The degree of understanding of spoken language by a child far exceeds the ability to use it. An eighteen-month-old baby can carry out detailed commands, such as asking him to put his toys in the box, although he is not yet able to say the command himself.

1. Give the names of the most important colors.
   If your child is too young to learn the names of colors, you name them and make them aware that colors differ from each other.
2. Try to remove what distracts him.
   Do not talk to your baby when he is completely absorbed in something.
3. Record everyday noises on a voice recorder, such as a car passing by, water being poured into a cup, and the like. While the tape is playing, observe the child’s face, checking if he recognizes the sounds.
4. Skip the last word in his favorite song. Sing the whole song until you reach the last word and stop – the child will probably try to add the missing word.
5. Look at the child when he talks to you.
   Listen to him carefully and react positively, even if much of what he said is not fully understood.

Emilia Adamczyk