Re: how to encourage toddler to speak?
My now 5 yr old, has been around kids/adults his entire life and has a speech delay.
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Do not talk in baby language.
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If your child is pointing, gesturing at things, that is a form of speech. You want to encourage less pointing/gesturing.
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Child may be lazy in speaking, as you already know what your child’s wants and needs are, so you are fulfilling them before he/she says anything.
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Do not show/voice your frustration , kids pick up on it,
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Get picture books and read. Make it fun for your child. They may want to look at one page, may be fascinated by a certain pic. Will maybe look at a book for 2 mins. Do not make it monotonous.
how to encourage toddler to speak?
I think reading everything in sight and talking is a great idea. Like khwati said, encourage her to ask for things instead of her pointing and being heard. Talk about the things, even if she points to a cookie, say do you want a cookie and then tell her to say I want the cookie. Even if she says cookie, try to talk about the cookie in a descriptive manner. Nothing helps more than hearing word and to encouraging them to talk, they need to hear words that are repititive and simple. I bought simple picture books and we just talked about the pictures and made stories up about them. I truly believe some kids walk fast, some talk fast and eventually they hit their milestones on their own term.