Children are hardwired to communicate from birth, but they all need help to learn to talk.

Communication doesn’t just develop on its own. Needless to say, making sure that children’s communication skills are properly supported is crucial.

Why is it important?

Research has consistently shown that good speech and language skills have a huge impact on educational attainment, and when considering the importance of supporting children’s communication in the early years some of the findings are worth restating:

● Vocabulary at age five is a very strong predictor of the qualifications achieved at school leaving age and beyond (Feinstein and Duckworth, 2006).

● Children whose language difficulties were resolved by five-and-a-half are more likely to go on to develop good reading and spelling skills (Conti-Ramsden, 2009).

● Early speech, language and communication difficulties are a very significant predictor of later literacy difficulties (Snowling et al 2006).

So, we know that those who struggle to communicate are likely to have other difficulties to overcome. But we also know that many children who have difficulties with communication at an early age are able to go on to develop the good communication skills they need in life, if they have the right support and encouragement.

Supporting speech

Learning to talk relies on several underlying skills which can be supported from birth. The support provided for young babies is just as important as activities with toddlers and preschool children when it comes to developing speech.

The following tips are a great way to ensure that you’re helping children to become the best communicators they can be:

● Look at the child. Show them that you’re switched on and ready to listen. It also encourages them to look at you. This is easier to do if your eyes are at the same height, so get down to their level or bring them up to yours.

● Dummies get in the way of learning to talk, so keep them for sleep times. At First Steps we encourage babies and toddlers to just have their dummies at sleep time.

● Talk in short sentences. This helps children understand what you’re saying and also gives them a chance to copy the kind of sentence you’re using.

● Understanding words is a skill that’s acquired slowly. Build on what each child says: when they say one word, you say two. (“Bus”, “Red bus”.)

● Children need time to process language, so give them a chance to respond. Resist the temptation to jump in too quickly.

● Children learn to modify the sounds they use by listening to adults, but they can’t necessarily change the way they say things straight away. If a child attempts a word, say it back to them. For example, if they say “Dod”, you say, “Yes, dog” ). Don’t make them say it back to you afterwards; they’ll do this when they’re ready.

● Children’s speech takes several years to mature. They learn through playing, so encourage them to play with sounds, by making animal noises and so on. Nearer school age, playing can involve rhyming games or making up words.

Of course, getting the most from children’s communication isn’t only about being actively involved with an individual child. It’s also about making sure the environment supports communication development too. This means making sure your child’s nursery is geared up to encourage good communication skills. At First Steps we create lots of communication friendly spaces for the children to interact with their peers, with lots of singing and rhymes, circle times and story times.

A communication supportive setting is one that amongst other things:

● has staff with an understanding about how communication skills develop and how to support them.

● enables children to learn through means other than language, for example, using visual timetables, gesture or communication systems such as Makaton.

● has set routines for the sessions so that children know what’s going on.

● has a quiet area with few distractions where children can go to learn to listen to what is being said to them.

Through a combination of strategies used by staff (such as repeating and reinforcing new vocabulary, supporting songs with actions and objects), appropriate language styles (for example, using simple, repetitive language during everyday activities) and suitable approaches (things like modelling activities, using questions that invite conversation), settings can make sure that they support communication development in all children.

Reading with children before its bed time or at a quiet part of the day will also encourage the learning of new words and how to pronounce them.

If you are ever worried about your child’s speech do speak to your local health visitor, GP or the team at First Steps Nursery.