Communication and language

Communication tips for parents 4 years plus

• Spend time looking at and reading books together. Talk about new words and their meanings.

• Make sure you give your child time to talk, your child is trying to express more complex ideas and may need more time to respond to questions while they are getting their words sorted out before they speak.

• Repeat back to your child what they said but reword it into a correct sentence rather than correcting them.

• Play games with sounds and rhymes. This will help with developing reading and writing skills.

• Play board games to develop listening, turn taking and following rules. These can also be good for showing examples of good social language.

• Make sure you set a good example of social language by using words such as ‘please’ and ‘hello’  so that your child can use these words and recognise when they are needed.

• Involve your child in everyday routines.

• Encourage imaginative play and join in pretend games with your child.

• Make sure you know what your child is learning at  school and reinforce with games, books and activities at home. This will help them learn new words more easily and allow them to practice and use language associated with their learning more often.