Every Day

Every Day Ee

ELEPHANT

What the Science Tells Us

Every day is rich with opportunities for language learning. It is never too early for us to have conversations with our child. Children who hear more language and engage in more conversations from early in life can benefit throughout life.

Many of us experience considerable stress from the demands of life. The thought of having to carve out extra time to play and have conversations with our child can seem overwhelming. The good news is that some of the best times for language learning are during our daily routines.

Incorporating more talk with our child during routine activities is an easy way to increase the amount of language they are exposed to and there is great value in talking about shared experiences.

It is a wonderful habit to have conversations with our child every day during everyday activities and routines. This not only helps our child learn some new words, it is also a great way to pass along family and cultural knowledge and strengthen the all-important relationship with our child. These simple conversations establish an easy-going tradition of listening to our child and talking with them, about anything. This will prove valuable throughout life. The relationship we create with our child when they are little provides the foundation for our relationship with our teenager.

Every minute of good conversation and engagement with our child counts, whether we use words or signs. Over time, the cumulative effects will have a big impact on their learning and development. That said, no parent needs to spend every minute of every day interacting with their child. It wouldn’t be good for either one. Instead, we can use natural situations as they arise to listen to our child and respond. We can also set aside specific times in the day to give our child our full attention.

What You Can Do

At all stages of development your child benefits when you talk with them about shared experiences and emotions, and when you notice what they are interested in.

One example is when you match language to what you are doing in the moment. You can do this naturally as you go about your everyday activities. Your child’s response is their “turn” in the conversation (see Turntaking). It lets you know if you are talking about things they are interested in and in a way that engages them.  You can:

# Name things you or your child notice indoors and outside # Talk about what you are doing and why # Talk about what you are going to do later in the day # Talk about feelings when you or your child are showing emotions, and the reasons for feeling that way

• For example: • “I’m disappointed.  I came to buy the oranges on sale and they are all sold out! Oh well” • “You seem HAPPY.  No wonder! You have just built a very tall tower with those blocks!”

As your child moves through different stages of communication you will find that you naturally adjust the way you speak with them.

When your child is in the pre-intentional stage, or just starting to use sounds, single words, signs, or gestures intentionally, you may want to highlight words, and match those words to what your child is currently experiencing. This will help them link meaning to words.  You can:

# When feeding, changing or dressing your child, use short sentences and emphasize key words.  These are ideal opportunities to give your child your full attention, interact with them and “play” with words

• “Milk! Yes, you like milk!” • “Oh, it’s wet! Your diaper is wet.  We need a dry one.” EEL

As your child’s language develops, you can continue to:

# Model short and simple sentences and narrate or talk about what you or your child are doing as you are doing it • “Book! You are holding a book!” • “We’re going out.  Now, where are your shoes? Here they are.  Here are your shoes.  I’m putting on your left shoe.  Then I’m putting on your right shoe!”

Your child benefits at every stage when you match your words to what they are seeing or experiencing. This helps them link meaning to words.  Your child can play nearby while you are preparing food if it is safe to do so.

You can:

# Talk about the food and what you are doing to prepare it • Focus on object names, describing words and action words # Show your child what you are talking about by holding out the items or narrating your actions • “I’m washing the carrots.  Then I’m going to peel and cut them” • “This is the vegetable peeler.  This is how I peel carrots” • “Time to cut the carrots. Cut, cut, cut” (as you cut the carrots) # Move beyond simple labelling by describing the food, including talking about what it looks and tastes like.  Involve your child • “Oh I like the way you are putting those tomatoes on the plate” • “I need some help.  Can you please hand me the salt?” • “Smell this (model by taking a deep breath) Can you smell the garlic? • “I’m cutting up these grapes so they are not a choking hazard, and you can eat them.  Mmm what do you think? Are they sweet?” # Give your child something safe to hold to keep them engaged while you are preparing food • “That’s a nice big orange.  Thank you for holding it.  In a minute I’m going to peel it so you can eat it.”

When your child is speaking in phrases or short sentences, you can: 

“At every stage match words to what your child sees or experiences.

# Give them an age/stage-appropriate task to help with food preparation.

Describe what they are doing and ask them questions about it: • “I like the way you are rolling out the pastry.  What are you making?” # Use different words in your routine that mean the same thing.  This helps expand your child’s vocabulary: • “I’m washing the celery now.” “I’m swishing the celery in water to clean it.” # Talk about the steps of cooking using simple “first/then” language • “First I’m washing the celery stalks and then I’m going to cut them into smaller pieces” • “First we boil the water, and then we add the noodles” # Talk about safety, and rules in the kitchen • “I’m cutting carefully with my sharp knife on this cutting board” • “Sharp! This knife is sharp.  It’s not safe for kids.  It’s dangerous” • “It’s time to move away from the stove.  I’m going to boil water and it’s going to be hot! Look, the water is boiling.  It’s hot! You can see the steam”

At this point, you may want to explain to your child that you can SEE when water is very hot, because steam comes out.

Some other things you can say in daily routines include:

# “We need your coat.  It’s chilly outside! brrrr!” (Include a gesture to show you are cold) # “We need your raincoat because it’s raining outside” # “Time for bed.  Time to sleep!”

When your child is using gestures, words, or sentences, you can set up a variety of situations within familiar daily routines. These can be serious or silly and give your child opportunities to learn about or express themselves with words.  For example, you can:

# Give them their cereal without a spoon so that they need to ask you for one # Jokingly give them the wrong coat or someone else’s shoes that are too big for them # Hand them their hat when they are looking for their boots # Pretend to read their favourite book upside-down

Most children love correcting their parents! Silly situations like these are fun ways to start a conversation and can easily become a part of your usual routines. If you notice you haven’t had a chance for one-on-one time with your child during the day, put on your timer for 10 minutes or so, then put away all distractions and just focus on interacting with your child.

EMU