You can expect to hear that magical first “mama” or “papa” from your baby by the time he or she turns one year old. After that, she will start picking up simple words, and by the time she is 18 months old, the learning capabilities will develop significantly.

As a parent, you can encourage your child to speak and develop their language and communication skills. Your baby will pick it up according to her natural development, while your efforts will boost their learning and speech.

But if your child suffers from physical or cognitive disorders, like dyslexia, autism and dyspraxia, then you should consult a speech therapist. The sessions cost around $150 to $300 per hour and help your child lead a normal life.

Ways To Improve Your Child’s Speech Without Spending So Much

Apparently, a speech therapy is your last resort. You can spend for such service when your doctor advises you to do so. The good news is there are ways you can do to improve their speaking capabilities while they are still young. Here are 10 easy, effective, and engaging methods you can try.

Talk All Day

Simple but very effective. The more your child gets exposed to new words, the more likely he or she understands them. Narrate everything as it happens. And when they ask something, make sure that you explain using simple words.

Link Words To Real Life

Connect words to things and actions. When your child points to the cookies, encourage him to say “cookies.” When talking about cars, point to one and make a sign of motion with your hand.

Repeat Often

As much as possible, repeat the words as often as you can so that your child can grasp the words fast and easily. Remember to use real words and limit the baby talk (i.e. gaga, gugu), especially after the child is already 9 months old.

Read Words To Them

Reading to your child should not be restricted to just books. Read them anything and everything – street signs, billboards, back of the milk carton, to name a few. Your child learns to connect speech sounds and language structure, and he or she can use them sooner.

Read Books To Them

Make reading books an interactive session. Instead of reading word by word, point at pictures and talk to them about those images. Then, do a follow-up by asking questions. If your child finds the picture of Red Riding Hood interesting, then say something like “She’s wearing a nice red dress.” Ask her, “Where is she going?”

Basically, talk to them while reading a book. This will expand the imagination of your child and help them develop receptive and expressive language skills.

Encourage Them To Speak Out

You can also use some techniques to get them to speak. When your toddler wants something, make them say it in words. If they want the ball, let them say the word and encourage them to say it. Once they successfully utter the word, award them with the thing they want or they’re pointing to.

Ask Questions

Ask open-ended questions frequently. If possible, avoid queries that can easily be answered with only yes or no. Questions like “What did you see at the zoo,” or “Which toy do you like best?” are much better. Moreover, it helps your child develop cognitive skills and logical reasoning. Take the lead from your baby and interact with the things they are interested about.

Don’t Correct Their Speech

Remember not to criticize or correct her speech if she says something inaccurately. Acknowledge her efforts positively and respond back to what she said. If she says “Doggy, go-go,” quip in “Yes, the dog is going away.”

Choose Responsive Items

Toddlers love anything that is interactive, like a book with colorful images and buttons. Other things that excite and make your baby curious include music and rhymes. Pick a song that rhymes well or has a lot of repeating words like “Old Mac-Donald” or “Row, Row, Row, your Boat” and sing it to them. Sing it anytime and when you have the time. Repetition is the key!

Arrange Field Trips

If you are taking them to the zoo, point to the animals and utter their names to your child. You can also ask them what sounds they make. Show them things at museums and create sensible conversations with your children. It will open a whole new world of learning possibilities to them.

Bottomline

Those are just a few things you can to help you child enhance his or her speech. Assisting your child to develop superior communication skills should start at an early age. You should also be careful with any signs of deficiency in your baby which may necessitate the intervention of a speech therapist.