Page 58 - Mother & Baby - UK (March 2020)

LE ARN I N G

TO TALK
Special

2-3 years

‘This is a period of rapid language expansion,’
says Annie. ‘By the time your child is three

she’ll be using up to 300 different words; she’ll Offer
be able to put together four- to five-word visual choices
sentences, and she’ll understand size and Buildlanguage skills and strengthen your
position concepts such as big and little; up and child’ssenseof autonomy by givingher simple
choicesabouther day. At breakfast, haveabox of
down; in and out.’ She’ll be able to tell simple
cerealinonehand and a loaf of bread in theother.
stories and to add plurals to words –
Holdupfirstone and then the other andsay,
understanding that it’s ‘one dog’ but ‘two
‘Cereal?’‘Or toast?’ When she’s getting
dogs’. Here’s how to help your smart little dressedhold upherbluetrousersandher
button master the skills she needs…
yellowtrousersandsay,‘Blueor
yellow?’
Dress
up!
‘Make-believe isagreatwaytopractise
usingwordsthatwedon’tuseeveryday,’says
Annie. ‘As a firefightershe’llbeusingwords like
“ladder” and “hose”and“bucket”.Asadoctor
she’ll learn “ill”, “well”and“hurting”.Andas a
horse she cantalkabout“galloping”and
“trotting”andeating“hay”!’

Are
What’s you a
in the box?
satsuma?
Getabox andhidesomethingdifferent
insideevery day. Ask your child toopen it Therulestothisgamearesimple.You ask
yourchild ifsheisawholevarietyof
andtellyou what’s inside. Then askher differentfruits(orvehicles,oranimals, or
questions about it. ‘Is it soft?’ ‘Does it toys)and shesays,‘NO!’.‘Areyoua
makea noise?’ ‘Is it food?’ ‘What melon?’‘NO!’ ‘Are you a raspberry?
doIdowithit?’
‘NO!’ Are you a satsuma?’
‘NO!’

‘We’ve read to
Hayden since he
was born. As he’s got
older, he’s started telling his
teddy bears stories. Every
morning, he tells them the story
that we told him the night before!
It’s so lovely to listen to and it
means he’s hearing and using new
words all the time.’
Jade Alsop, 29, from Great
mouth, is mum to
Hayden, two

56 | March 2020 | mothe ra ndbaby.co.uk