5 ways to train and stimulate little one to speak fluently

Listening to little one’s talk is one of the critical phases for parents. There will be an anxious feeling when little one is already 1 year old but he/she still cannot talk like friends of the same age. Calm down, Mom, according to children psychologist in The Children Hospital di Montefiore, New York City, Rahil Briggs, Psy.D, every child has a different timing for talking. So, Mom doesn’t have to be worried and compare little one to his/her friends at the same age.

When do parents allow themselves to be worried?

There are few things that need to be aware of and consult it to a doctor related to little one’s language development, if he/she showing these indications below:

1. 1 year old. Little one never shows the thing he/she wants with his/her finger. And, his/her face not showing expression.

2. 1 year and 4 months. Little one doesn’t say any meaningless words at all.

3. 2 years old. Little one cannot say two understandable words yet.

4. 2-3 years old. Little one cannot use a sentence with 2-3 words. Little one also cannot understand color and mention things around him/her yet.

Stimulation so the little one can speak fluently

Little one development also cannot be separated from Dad and Mom roles. To make little one’s speaking ability develop faster, Dad and Mom can get actively involved in giving stimulation. There are five ways that Dad and Mom can do to give little one stimulation so he/she can speak in the near time:

1. Actively invite little one to talk
   Even though babies cannot talk yet, it will be better for parents to always communicate with them. This habit will form little one to be more communicative and his/her vocabulary will expand. The topic can be anything, for example when little one is holding a toy, Mom can tell him/her what the toy is called. Also Mom can tell little one about the names of things around him/her while pointing out on it. Therefore, little one’s vocabulary will increase.

2. Get little one used to read a book
   Mom can start with reading simple story books that have a lot more pictures than words. While little one pay attention to the pictures Mom could try to translate the pictures with words. This habit will increase little one curiosity and stimulate little one to learn harder to talk and read.

3. Invite the little one to sing
   Mom can sing a song when carrying little one, taking a bath or when he/she wants to sleep. If Mom does it repeatedly then the little one will get used to and slowly he/she will imitate the song that Mom sings often. And for that, Mom has to choose an easy to understand and educational song.

4. Do not criticize
   Corrected is allowed, but don’t criticize. Whatever the babbles and the articulations, or little one talking style,  he/she is in process to talk fluently. If little one point out to a bowl while saying “maam”, Mom can respond it with looking at his/her eyes and said “do you want to eat?” There, the little one will learn by looking at Mom’s mouth and notice how to pronounce it so it could stimulate him/her to copy what Mom said.

5. Respond and Listen little one’s babbles
   One of the factors that make little one’s delay speech is because he/she isn’t given a chance to talk or when little one talks nobody pays attention to what he/she said. With that condition, little one will feel less confident and afraid to talk in front of people. To avoid that, it will be better for Mom to always respond whatever he/she said and told. Mom’s positive response will motivate little one to always reveal what he/she felt and tell what he/she wants to say.

If a little one’s development looks slower and is not according to his/her age stages, Mom can immediately consult to a pediatrician or child development expert so they can do a check up and rightly handled. Beside that, don’t forget to apply those 5 ways above to stimulate little one speaking skills. Hope this information can be useful for Mom.