Talking with Katie

Get your toddler talking using CHOICES!👇🏻

We ALL want choices, our toddlers included! 🙌🏻

But choices are also a great way to support your child’s language development.

Just starting out?👇🏻
Give choices between a PREFERRED and NON-PREFERRED item.

“Olives or crackers?”
This may get them engaged and giggling, but it’s also effective because it’s much more motivating to make a choice so they don’t get the non-preferred item!

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE:
“What do you want to drink? Milk or water?”
*reaching for milk”
“Milk?”
*still reaching”
“Want milk, sure! Milk. Let’s get some milk.”

What questions do you have about choices?! Drop them below and let’s chat!👇🏻

Ever felt anxious when you heard what another friend’s child is doing? 🙈

Ever felt dread as you head to your well check because you’ll have to fill out the Ages & Stages Questionnaire, knowing you’ll fill in one too many “not yet” responses? 😞

Ever feel like you want to scream at a professional that your child is more than their skills? That they are funny, sweet, silly, kind, SO MUCH MORE than their milestones? 😫

Milestone talk can elicit a lot of anxiety, I get it!

But we also can’t shy away from talking about them. The fact is they are signals to know when our babes need help!

But mama please remember, milestones don’t define your baby OR you.

They don’t indicate worth.

They don’t indicate value.

They just give us clues when our sweet babes need some extra help 💕
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Want to get your baby or toddler imitating? 👶🏻👧🏽

Add in actions with the sound or word! 👏🏻

Not only will it increase the likelihood they imitate but it makes every activity more FUN! 🎉

What action and word combo does your toddler love?! Let’s chat! 👇🏻
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Help! How do I help my toddler imitate words! 👶🏽 (You’ll want to save this for later!)

IMPORTANT: before we expect these words to come we must make sure they developmentally are ready! Do they have the 11 skills that come before words? (see previous posts). 👇🏻

A few of those precursor skills include imitating actions and sounds (shhh, coughing etc).👍🏻

Then, really focus on exclamatory words!

🔅UH OH!
🔅WOW
🔅WHEE
🔅BOOM
🔅OUCH
🔅YAY

Why do these often develop as first words?
👉🏻They have simple syllable shapes
👉🏻They evoke a somewhat emotional response (often excitement & fun)
👉🏻We often naturally pair an action with them

Be sure to swipe through to see ideas for modeling these fun words!

And if you’re looking for more concrete ideas on how to support your toddlers language development grab my Talking with Toddlers cards! (link in bio) 🎉

Did your toddler use any of these exclamatory words early on? Let’s chat in the comments! 👇🏻
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Want to get your toddler talking? Reach for a repetitive book! 📚

They are predictable. ✅
They are engaging. ✅
They are full of opportunity. ✅
They are FUN. ✅

And THAT 👆🏻 is a recipe for encouraging language development!

Don’t miss my favorite repetitive books linked below! 📚

https://l12138.myubam.com/wishlist/b06f386d-2984-4517-b056-ad7f00b1d108

What are your favorite repetitive books? Drop one below! 👇🏻
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Baby Ames, we are head over heels in love with you. 💕

Let’s get them babies talking! 🗣

One of my favorite tools to get little ones engaged AND support their language development is lift the flap books! 📚

Any time you pick up a book it’s a good thing 👏🏻

But how can we maximize that time for language growth AND increase their engagement? 👇🏻

🔅Knock on the flaps
🔅Say & wave “bye” before closing them
🔅Blow kisses before you close them
🔅Model “open” before you open flaps
🔅Give them directions “open it, close it”
🔅Model actions as you look at pictures

What are some of your favorite lift that flap books? We love Dear Zoo around here! Tell me some of your favorites! 👇🏻
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Toddler just not interested in talking? Give this a try! 👇🏻

If we want to get our toddlers talking we need to make things FUN & ENGAGING! 🎉

We also need to meet them where they are and be aware of the development of imitation as a whole! 💯

So what does this mean? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Start with modeling actions with fun noises (Oooo! Ahhhh! Whoooosh!)💨

Then continue the actions but work in fun exclamatory words (CRASH! WHEEEE! BOOM!) 💥

And finally pair actions with simple functional words! (Up up up! Down! Hat!) 🧢

Have fun with it! Put the hat on your head, make it fall down, then offer the hat to them! 🧢

Stack multiple hats on your head saying “MORE?!” & hold your hand out for them to give you another hat. 🧢🧢🧢

Guys, I promise this activity will get the giggles going, and chances are it will get the imitation going too! 👩‍👦

Give this one and try and report back in the comments!👇🏻
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We are grateful to add another boy to our crew 💙

3 boys. All who had/have due dates within days of each other. 👦🏼👦🏼👦🏼

So you know what that means.....

YOU get joint birthday gifts, YOU get joint birthday gifts, YOU ALL GET JOINT BIRTHDAY GIFTS! 😂🙌🏻

On another note, I’ve been quiet here because, to be honest, feeling very sick with two toddlers was a challenge and it took everything I had to just show up for my family 💕 Thank you for the space and your patience as I get back to the speech and language content!

We are so excited, we are so grateful, we are honored to be entrusted with this privilege, and I can not wait to watch these 3 boys grow! 💙

(If you know our youngest, Boston, you know he is a mommas boy to the core so this photo is just so accurate 😂).

Now let’s take a moment to celebrate our kiddos! What’s your FAVORITE thing about your child right now?! Let’s chat! 👇🏻
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The biggest “AH HA!” moment for parents AND children? 🤔(You’ll want to save this for future reference!)

When they realize there are SO MANY skills that come before a child talks on their own functionally! 🎉

The skill of imitation typically develops in a sequence.

It’s like walking. A baby with no trunk strength isn’t just going to get up and walk.

We need to work on the foundational skills first. 🙌🏻

We have to BACK 👏🏻 IT 👏🏻 UP 👏🏻

And mama, want to know the beautiful thing? 👇🏻

Often times when we meet our babies & toddlers where they are developmentally their engagement and connection increases too! 👩‍👦

So break out those silly noises and actions as you are playing with your family this week! (GOBBLE GOBBLE 🦃)

Need some specific ideas as you stay home this holiday season? Grab my “Talking With Toddlers” activity cards! (Link in bio!) 🎉

What is a fun noise or action your little is or has loved?! Let’s chat! 👇🏻
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“How do I get my baby/toddler TALKING?” 🤷🏻‍♀️

This is by far my most frequently asked question. For good reason! 👇🏻

We want to hear our babies voices! 👶🏼👶🏾

And while my whole page is filled with tips to get your toddler talking, here’s a super practical one! 👇🏻

Shift from QUESTIONS to COMMENTS! 💯

Questions place pressure. (Cue loss of attention, walking away, or a meltdown). 🥴

Comments model what we want THEM to say in a low pressure, FUN way! 🎉

Now questions can be a great thing when a child has an established language system!

But when they are first LEARNING language you will have much greater success by using comments! 🙌🏻

Have any mamas out there seen success with your baby or toddler imitating comments you’ve made? I’d love to hear about it! 👇🏻
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When do babies learn BYE BYE?👋🏼 (Save this post for ideas!)

In typical development:
🔅Waving - between 9-10 months
🔅”Bye”- sometime after 12 months

Why is waving & saying “bye” important? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Well the ability to greet and respond to greetings is an important social skill.👶🏼👶🏾

And waving, or imitating an action, is an important early imitation skill, which will lay the foundation for imitating words down the road! 🗣

What is the BEST thing you can do to teach your child to wave and say “BYE BYE”?👇🏻

🎉MODEL, MODEL, MODEL. 🎉

But the key? Model in context.👋🏼

It’s one thing to imitate a random gesture or word.👇🏻

It’s another thing to learn to USE a gesture or word appropriately. 💯

So here are some ideas to set up opportunities to model “BYE” in a context that makes sense:
🔅Lift the flap books
🔅Peek-a-boo
🔅Photos
🔅Hiding under a blanket
🔅Hiding behind their high chair
🔅Model greetings consistently as you leave

Is your child saying “bye bye” yet? When is a time you find yourself modeling “bye” often throughout your day? Let’s chat! 👇🏻
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