Talking tips This page pulls together practical advice on developing childrens' early language and communication skills, taken from a range of sources. First words - which words? - one professional's handy hints Talk To Your Baby - quick tips - a series of advice sheets created by Talk To Your Baby covering key early language topics such as dummies and play, translated into nine languages Talk To Your Baby - a leaflet for parents and carers produced by the Talk To Your Baby campaign Help your child to talk - a leaflet by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists Babies having babies - produced by teenage mums in the London Borough of Lambeth Top tips for parents - from the Talking Tots Calendar 2002, Sure Start Bilston & Ettingshall Please talk to me! and Tips Towards Talking - written by Sure Start Cannock Chase Listening and talking tips from parenting expert, Eileen Hayes Happy talk - an article by Talk To Your Baby on how to support your toddler's language development, published in the Tesco Toddler magazine Give 'em the gift of the gab - advice from Talk To Your Baby mentioned in Prima Baby magazine First words - which words? First Words - which words? - one professional's handy hints. The following information was provided by Rose Norgate, SureStart Speech and Language Therapist (August 2005) Before children use words that grown ups use they use noises that are associated with the thing they mean, and that is a normal healthy part of developing language. A cat will be a "miaow" and a car a "brmm brmm". It is OK to say words like "choo choo" to a young child with very little language because it's attractive and easier to copy than "train". First words are usually names of people or things that are very much a part of everyday life for the child and are usually NOUNS, which is the proper word for the names of things. Children usually learn to understand and use a small range of NOUNS before they learn any other sort of words - a typical vocabulary might be Mummy, Daddy, Baby, Nanny, Drink, Brmm Brmm, and maybe a pet's name or a TV character. Little children use their single words and we interpret them as if they had made a sentence, so if the child says "daddy" we say "where's Daddy gone?" or "yes, Daddy did it" or whatever we think is the right thing at the time. If they are going to be able to make their own sentences they need some different sort of words. The first ones are often "more" and "gone", because they are very easy to use in the context of most young children's lives. Once the child has these words he/she can make lots of useful sentences "more drink", "Nanny gone", and on and on... it's Ok to talk like this to your child, and will not in any way hinder them from learning to use "proper" sentences in good time. The next big group of words that a child needs to make a start on is VERBS. These are the words that describe actions, like eat, run, sit, cry and stop, and using them opens up lots more opportunities. This is about the time when teddy or dolly play gets interesting and dolly can be made to eat, sleep cry etc., and toy cars can be told to "Stop!" at the edge of the table. With some NOUNS and VERBS a child can do a lot of communicating - "Nanny eat cake", "doggy sit book" etc. ( "on" will come later), but some ADJECTIVES will make talking more interesting. ADJECTIVES are words that describe things, and the favourites for people who spend time with young children to emphasise are the colour words - red, blue, green etc. These are actually not especially interesting or exciting words for a young child, except perhaps in relation to a favourite toy or jumper of their own. Words like "wobbly" and "sticky" and "yummy" and "hot" are much more exciting and fun to use. "Big" and "little" are adjectives. With some NOUNS, VERBS, and ADJECTIVES the child can say almost anything - at least so someone close to them can understand, but it's useful to know some words to talk about where things are. These are PREPOSITIONS and include "in", "on" "under" and "behind" and these are great words for playing Hide and Seek or telling mum that "doggy on book". There are lots of exciting and useful things to learn before you start on the "educational favourites" - colours, shapes, numbers, and letters. These can safely wait until 3 years at least and will be learned much quicker if left till later. Play and talk about the things you and your child enjoy doing together and don't turn talking into a test by asking lots of questions. We grown-ups don't like being tested - why should they? Have a good chat! Rose Norgate, SureStart Speech and Language Therapist, August 2005 Babies having babies The following information is taken from Babies Having Babies, a magazine produced by teenage mums for teenage mums in Lambeth. Reproduced with thanks to the teenage mums of Lambeth - Rimmel Graham, Charlene Kirton, Natasha Mavour, Eloise Taylor-Abid, Monique Dorris, Kathy Williamson - and Lambeth Libraries, St Michael's Fellowship, Lambeth NHS Primary Care Trust, Lambeth Southwark and Lewisham Health Action Zone. 1. Why babies need to attend and listen Young babies need to listen and attend to familiar sounds before they understand spoken language. As they get older they learn to distinguish between outside noises, for example the difference between buses, trains and the telephone. Once babies are aware of both voices and outside noises, they can begin to listen for differences in speech sounds. Being able to discriminate (tell the difference) between two speech sounds is the first step towards understanding speech. In the early stages facial expression and lip patterns will help children to hear the difference between speech sounds. Babies and children who do not learn to listen may go on to have difficulties learning to understand and use spoken language. Older children may have difficulties coping in the classroom.

• Allow your child to set the agenda, follow his or her lead.
  
• Use simple words, especially regular words e.g. toy, cup, nappy etc.
  
• Try to keep sentences short.
  
• It is important to teach your baby to take turns. Wait and pause giving your child the space to respond to you.
  
• Emphasise copying. As your baby begins to learn new sounds, copy them.
  
• When your child is between 2-4 years old use pictures or actions to show what new words mean. Use new words many times in conversation.
  
• Give instructions clearly and in short parts, speak clearly and not too fast.
  
• Talk to your baby whilst performing regular tasks, i.e. at mealtimes, getting dressed, having a bath, going for walks, doing the laundry and washing up. You do this because children need routine.
  
• Say what things are, what things are used for and what you are doing, using simple clear language. Let them have a turn to talk. You could also use sounds as well as actions, like Wheeee, Whooosh and Pop!
  

• Cut down on background noise
• Get down to your baby's level
• Toys and activities can help - bubbles, shakers, pop-up toys

Learning to talk is exciting for both children and their parents. It should be fun for your child, family and friends. But it is not necessarily easy. The process of talking involves listening, understanding, thinking, wanting and needing to speak, and being able to co-ordinate all the right muscles.

Children learn to talk at different ages. Some children say their first intelligible word before they are a year old, while others may not speak until they are over two. Generally, however, children start to talk by 18 months.

Children need to be encouraged to talk in much the same way as they are encouraged to walk. Early walkers may be late talkers, and early talkers may be late walkers. And remember, toddlers can understand what is said long before they use the words themselves.

If you are at all concerned about your child's speech, you can refer him or her to a speech and language therapist in your local health centre or hospital, or your health visitor or doctor can do it for you.

The 12 tips in this leaflet are some of the ways in which you can help your child to learn to talk. Do be patient - the process is gradual and may seem slow. Words may be unclear and your child may stumble or hesitate. This is quite normal.

1. Talk to your child when you are playing together.
2. Have fun with nursery rhymes and songs, especially those with actions.
3. Encourage your child to listen to different sounds, such as cars, animals, the telephone.
4. Gain your child's attention when you want to talk together.
5. Encourage your child to communicate in any way, not just through words.
6. Increase vocabulary by giving choices, eg "Do you want orange or blackcurrant?"
7. Talk about things as they happen, eg when you are both unpacking the shopping.
8. Listen carefully and give your child time to finish talking. Take turns to speak.
9. Always respond in some way when your child says something.
10. Help your child to use more words by adding to what is said, eg if they said "ball" you might say, "Yes, throw me the ball."
11. If your child says something incorrectly, say it back the right way, eg "Goggy bited it." "Yes, the dog bit it, didn't he?"
12. Try and have a special time with your child each day to play with toys and picture books.

Please talk to me! (0-6 months)

• It's never too soon to talk to your baby - start as soon as he's born.
• Babies love faces! Hold her close so she can see your face as you talk to her.
• Listen - babies communicate right from the beginning - what is he trying to tell you?
• She loves to hear your voice and will start to turn towards it. Talk slowly and gently.
• Give him time to make sounds, he'll gurgle and try to copy you.
• Turn feeding, changing and bathing times into talking times!
  

Tips Towards Talking

• Your baby loves you talking to her. Have you noticed she's trying to talk back?
• You say something and then wait a while for the sounds he makes back. 'Taking turns' is the beginning of early conversation.
• Chat as you feed and change her and talk about what you're doing.
• Encourage her to look at you as you call her name, gently turning her face towards you.
• Babies love playing with sounds - he says 'goo ga gee' - you say it back.
• Remember dummies are best kept for sleep-times, they make it very difficult to talk.
• She'll shout to get your attention and show you what she wants by pointing and actions - give her the words she needs: 'Oh, you want the ball, do you?'
• Talking is fun so try to cut out all the other noises around - radio, TV and video - so you can talk and listen to each other.
• Help him to learn to listen too - point out the birds in the garden, the fire engine in the road, daddy's car outside.
• He'll try to copy your actions, funny faces - and most important of all, the sounds you make!
• She'll laugh and chuckle as you play with her. Play peek-a-boo, tickling and bouncing games - try pat-a-cake. Do them again and again - she'll soon let you know when she's had enough!
• Babies love to learn. Play with her, follow her lead and play with what she likes. Look at books together and tell her what things are called.
• Talk to him slowly and clearly and give him lots of time to take in what you say.
• Babies love action rhymes, songs and TV jingles - sing them for her and let her join in whatever way she can.
• Help him to wave 'bye bye' as people leave.
• Remember, playing is learning!