This particular issue comes up a lot in my work with families and early years settings. We might have a little one who knows all his letters and numbers, and impresses all the adults around him with this knowledge.
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However, being an effective communicator takes much more than knowing a few words. When I meet a child for the first time who has some words, there are a few things I'm looking for:
- what TYPE of words does the child use e.g. names / actions/ describing words
- WHY does the child say these words e.g. is he naming something, asking for something, telling us about something, or saying he doesn't want something?!
Both these skills are super important for effective communication with others.
When we think about teaching children words, focusing on 'functional words' will be most helpful for your child. Functional words are words that can be used to communicate WANTS and NEEDS across DIFFERENT activities.
Teaching colours and numbers is ok if you child is interested in these, but don't let them be your only focus.
Just think how powerful it would be for your child to be able to communicate "help" as well as saying something is "blue".
Is your child struggling to learn a variety of words and use them in different ways? If so, contact us for a free chat