Although each child acquires language at a different rate, children typically start developing their language skills at about four to six months of age. Babies will begin making consonant sounds, such as “da, da, da” at around 4-6 months. They will also begin to imitate sounds around 7-9 months that they hear from caregivers within their environment. Around their first birthday, babies will use meaningful language such as “mama” and “dada” to show an understanding of familiar people that they are interacting with on regular basis. Jo Ann Gramlich works as a speech-language pathologist and is the author of “Talk, Play, and Read with Me Mommy: Interactive Activities to Help Enhance Your Child’s Language Development From Birth to Age Five.” In her book she offers some practical advice on language development for parents, caregivers, professionals, and anyone who interacts with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. She also provides guidance and a roadmap to assist parents and caregivers in helping their children enhance their speech and language skills during daily routines or when on the go. There are many stimulating interactive activities and games that are developmentally appropriate for engaging children during the early, formative years. Language development is the foundation for expressive, receptive, and written communication skills and also a critical foundation for brain and cognitive development.
Must Read Language Development Books
There are a lot of books that touch on the topic of a children’s language development. These books serve as a guide to help a child formulate their thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. Below are some must-read books that can serve as a roadmap to increase children’s speech and language skills.
Talk, Play, and Read with Me Mommy
Jo Ann Gramlich’s Talk, Play, and Read with Me Mommy tops the list. The book is specifically designed to help children develop and enhance their communication skills during the formative years. It is an engaging compilation of interactive and enriching games and activities for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The book encourages interactions between parents, caregivers, and their child while creating and sharing special bonding moments together.
Goodnight, Gorilla
Children’s book Goodnight, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann, is another favorite as an early childhood language development book but comes with an interesting twist. Aside from the delightful and expressive artwork, the book is practically wordless! Apparently, that is the magic of the book. Being wordless encourages an interactive question and answer format between the reader and the listener or between the adult and the child. It stimulates the child to think about what will happen next, the character’s next move, where they are going, and what they will see. Children will love the animals including little night owls who sneaks along with Gorilla to see who gets the last laugh during his exciting adventure.
My Toddler Talks
My Toddler Talks by Kimberly Scanlon is another must-read for language development, especially for those toddlers experiencing a delay in speech development. The author is a speech-language pathologist who incorporates play routines for toddlers that help stimulate language while having fun at the same time. The book is conducive and easy for both a parent and a professional.
Hickory Dickory Dock and Other Favorite Nursery Rhymes
Illustrated by Sanja Rescek, the Hickory Dickory Dock and Other Favorite Nursery Rhymes are classic and very essential for children’s language development. The book is a throwback on timeless nursery rhymes famous for the rhythmic tempos that kids of all ages (adults as well) would sure love! The repeated rhyming text and music spark kid’s interest and is a good language development tool that helps kids develop better vocabulary and improves memory retention.
First 100 Words Board Book Box Set by Roger Priddy is another classic and essential for language development. The book box set is ideal for building vocabulary, memory retention, and word association skills. The book contains colorful basic words and pictures for toddlers and preschoolers. The book box set has a cover with a soft pad to protect delicate little hands when holding the book. The book is a must-have for toddler’s first connection to real-world objects or materials.
Learning is unique for each child. An effective learning strategy is to design educational materials customized to fit each child’s needs when it comes to language development. Jo Ann Gramlich’s book, Talk, Play, and Read with Me Mommy is an excellent example of an educational resource that makes learning fun and educational while simultaneously providing guidance on how-to help children increase their communication skills during the early years. Grab a copy of the book now on Amazon, or visit the author’s website at www.talkplayandread.com.