Core Words to Help Your Child with Their Speech Development
Do you have a baby or toddler who is starting to babble?
If so, I bet that you’re feeling excited for their first words! Speech development is such a fun journey to go on with your baby as they enter into toddlerhood. Are you curious what words are the most valuable to teach and emphasize for your toddler? If so, this post is for you!
Core words are some of the most powerful words that you can teach your little one! Core words can be thought of as the building blocks of language.
These words are a powerful way to help little ones communicate with those in their environment and express their wants and needs. These are functional words which are some of the simplest, yet most powerful words in your child’s vocabulary.
We are going to go through some of the top core verbs that you can teach your child. When introducing the core words discussed in this post, be sure to pair with signs and have fun watching your child’s vocabulary grow! By teaching your child these core/powerful words, you will help to decrease frustration and increase overall positivity around communication!
Core Words to Teach Your Toddler
Reminder, signs count as first words and are a HUGE help in growing your child’s expressive vocabulary. Follow this link to search for the sign for the core words discussed in this post.
Words are listed in no particular order and are all powerful words.
Help: Toddlers need a lot of help! But a lot of times, they don’t have access to the word “help!” So we have to model and teach them. As you see your child playing and observe that they cannot open a toy, turn on a toy, get a snack opened, etc. model help. When you model, emphasize the word and pair it with a sign. Help your child to sign for help (hand over hand guidance) and then provide them with the help that they need. Consistently model this and you will see your toddler start to pick it up independently!
Play: Toddlers LOVE to play! When your child wants to play, model the sign and pair it with the word. Watch as your child starts to imitate. Encourage your toddler to look at your lips as they come together for “p” and say “play” modeling word and sign. Have fun talking about play and watch your toddlers speech develop!
Eat: When your child is preparing to eat a meal or snack, model the sign for eat, paired with the word. They will start to associate this with the act of eating and be able to request when they want to eat.
Drink: When your child is preparing to drink something, model the sign for drink, paired with the word. Consistency is key!
Want: When your child is making a vocalization and you are unsure of what they “want” and you finally figure out what it is they want, model WANT, pair it with the sign and consistently repeat "oh you WANT ____. Consistently model this and watch as your toddlers frustration decreases when they can express the word “want”!
Go: There are so many things that go! When you are playing with toys that “go” emphasize GO, pair it the with sign. Examples include playing with cars, push them and they “go”, playing with dolls, stand them up and have them “go”.
Open: Toddlers love snacks! And almost all snacks need to be “opened” and this is a great way to teach this core word. Give your little one a snack, that is unopened, and help teach them the sign and also pair with the word so that they can start to pair the meaning of open with what they can get out of requesting something to be opened! Model as you open the cabinet, open the door, open the washer etc.
Close: Just as often as toddlers are opening things, they are closing them! Model the vocabulary as they are playing with toys that open and close, for example a toy barn, you can “open” and “close” the door and model this language as you play!
Read: Babies and toddlers learn so much through reading! And they love books! Model and emphasize the word “read” so that they can start to request for you to read to them! You can also model other core words “open the book” “close the book”. Have fun while you read! Point out fun things in the book and let your child find the joy in reading!
Up/Down: Little ones love to build and stack. While your child is building a tower of mega blocks or blocks, model UP up up, then push a car “GO” and model DOWN! Have fun playing and modeling these words. Fly your kid like an airplane, UP and DOWN.
Teaching core words is fun and exciting! As a speech-language pathologist, it is one of my favorite things to work on! But as a parent, this might feel overwhelming. There are so many other areas of development as well that parents are focusing on.
If this feels overwhelming, or you’re not sure if your child is communicating as much as they should be at their age, please reach out. Berry Speech Academy is a private practice located in the South hills of Pittsburgh, PA in Upper St. Clair. We are a family centered practice and love working with families to help boost their toddlers language skills.
Would my toddler benefit from a speech-language evaluation?
Curious what skills your toddler should have at their age? Check out these posts by age to learn if your child might benefit from a speech-language pathology evaluation by a licensed speech therapist. If you are in Pittsburgh, PA and would like to schedule your child for an evaluation, please reach out! We’d love to chat!
