Toys Are a Good Thing…? Here’s Why!
Maybe you should think twice before replacing your child’s toys with flashcards. While everything has their time and place, our youngins’ (that’s Southern for small children) may increase their language skills equally, if not more, when playing with toys.
However, there is a secret ingredient that will make this really work: YOU.
That’s right. Replace the batteries in the toys with your own voice. While it may look like play to your kiddo, it will actually be a little work and effort for you. Have no fear; this is not hard work. After all, playing is fun, right?
Now that we have established that toys are indeed a good thing for children, let’s look into the WHY and HOW.
WHY use toys for language development?
When playing with a child using their favorite toys, you are engaging in “child-centered” activities or therapy. This means that you are playing, focusing on, and talking about objects that the child is very interested in. It makes sense that if a child is interested in an object or activity, then their attention and motivation to engage with you in increased.
This is also true for adults. When was the last time you were asked to sit through a meeting or event that you were NOT interested in. What knowledge did you gain from this boring encounter? Probably not much. Now think about the last time you were learning about something that your were very interested in… maybe a Pinterest craft? What did you learn from it? Could you teach someone else? Probably so!
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Now take an example from our children. What if you were so set and focused on reading a book with your child. However, she cannot seem to break-away from her miniature-kitchen set. You beg and plead for her to focus on the book, but her attention is elsewhere. How much language and knowledge did she gain from this book reading? Not too much, if her attention was continually shifted. (*Disclaimer: Book reading is a great and necessary activity! This is only an example for the purpose of this topic.)
HOW can I use toys for language development?
As mentioned earlier, YOU are an important part of using toys successfully. If you are not talking and engaging with your child while they are playing, then nothing (as far as language is concerned) is being gained. Your child is just simply entertained. However, if you are talking about what you are playing with, then that’s a different story!
Here are some different strategies that can be used to engage language development during playtime.
- Expansion: Repeat what your child says, but add 1-2 more words
- Child: “My truck”
- Adult: “My big, blue truck”
- Parallel Talk: Talk about and describe what the CHILD is doing when playing
- Adult: “Blue block on top. Red block on top. Fall down!”
- Self Talk: Talk about and describe what YOU are doing while you are doing it
- Adult: “We are getting in the car. Open the door. Sit down. Buckle up.”
- Pause/Wait: When playing, pause and give your child a chance to communicate. Try not to meet their need before they communicate their need.
- Child: (Turns to you for another block)
- Adult: (Pause-Does not give block immediately)
- Child: (Reaches or grunts for the block)
- Adult: (Models appropriate communication) “More please” or “Want block”
- Increase Comments, Reduce Questions: When playing, try to make more comments instead of questions
- Adult: (Comment #1) “That car is red.”
- Adult (Comment #2) “It’s going fast!”
- Adult (Comment #3) “Go, car, go!”
- Adult (Question #1) “Do you want the blue car?”
References:
American Speech Language Hearing Association, Retrieved from: http://www.asha.org/PRPSpecificTopic.aspx?folderid=8589935327§ion=Treatment#Intervention_for_Preschoolers_(Ages_3_5)