Children can develop language skills
only if they have many opportunities
to talk, listen and use
language to solve problems and
learn about the world.
Long before your child enters
school, you can do many things to
help her develop language. You can:
★ Give your child opportunities to play. Play is how children learn. It
is the natural way for them to explore, to become creative, to learn
to make up and tell stories and to develop social skills. Play also
helps children learn to solve problems—for example, if her wagon
tips over, a child must figure out how to get it upright again. When
they stack up blocks, children learn about colors, numbers,
geometry, shapes and balance. Playing with others helps children
learn how to negotiate.
★ Support and guide your child as she learns a new activity. Parents
can help children learn how to do new things by “scaffolding,” or
guiding their efforts. For example, as you and your toddler put
together a puzzle, you might point to a piece and say, “I think this is
the piece we need for this space. Why don’t you try it?” Then have
the child pick up the piece and place it correctly. As the child
becomes more aware of how the pieces fit into the puzzle, you can
gradually withdraw your support.

★ Talk to your child, beginning at birth. Your baby needs to hear your
voice. Voices from a television or radio can’t take the place of your
voice, because they don’t respond to your baby’s coos and babbles.
Your child needs to know that when he makes a certain sound, for
example, “mamamamamama,” that his mother will respond—she
will smile and talk back to him. The more you talk to your baby,
the more he will learn and the more he will have to talk about as
he gets older.
Everyday activities provide opportunities to talk, sometimes in detail,
about what’s happening around him. As you give your child a bath, for
example, you might say, “First let’s stick the plug in the drain. Now let’s
turn on the water. Do you want your rubber duck?
That’s a good idea. Look, the duck is yellow, just
like the rubber duck we saw on ‘Sesame
Street.’”

★ Listen to your child.
Children have their own
special thoughts and feelings,
joys and sorrows, hopes and
fears. As your child’s language
skills develop, encourage her
to talk about her thoughts and
feelings. Listening is the best
way to learn what’s on her
mind and to discover what she knows and
doesn’t know and how she thinks and learns. It also shows your
child that her feelings and thoughts are valuable

★ Ask your child questions,
particularly questions that
require him to give more
than a “yes” or “no”
response. If, as you walk
with your toddler in a park,
he stops to pick up leaves,
you might point out how
the leaves are the same and
how they are different.
With an older child, you might ask, “What else grows on trees?”
★ Answer your child’s questions. Asking questions is a good way for
your child to learn to compare and to classify things—different kinds
of dogs, different foods and so forth. Answer your child’s questions
thoughtfully and, whenever possible, encourage her to answer her
own questions. If you don’t know the answer to a question, say so.
Together with your child, try to find the answer.
★ Read aloud to your child every day. Children of all ages love to be
read to—even babies as young as six weeks. Although your child
doesn’t understand the story or poem that you read, reading together
gives her a chance to learn about language
and enjoy the sound of your voice. You
don’t have to be an excellent reader for
your child to enjoy reading aloud
together. Just by allowing her to connect
reading with the warm experiences of
being with you, you can create in her a
lifelong love of reading

★ Be aware of your child’s television viewing. Good television programs
can introduce children to new worlds and promote learning, but poor
programs or too much TV watching can be harmful. It’s up to you to
decide how much TV and what kinds of shows your child should
watch. (See Taking Charge of TV, page 52.)
★ Be realistic about your child’s abilities and interests. Set high
standards and encourage your child to try new things. Children who
aren’t challenged become bored. But children who are pushed along
too quickly or who are asked to do things that don’t interest them
can become frustrated and unhappy.
★ Provide opportunities for your child to do and see new things. The
more varied the experiences that she has, the more she will learn
about the world. No matter where you live, your community can
provide new experiences. Go for walks in your neighborhood or
go places on the bus. Visit museums, libraries, zoos and other
places of interest.