How can I help my child at home?

Children learn speech through everyday interactions. The best way to support your child’s speech at home is through play and talking with your child. When you do this, you are modelling speech sounds and helping your child to learn how and when to say the correct sounds in words

Top Tips

 
Here are our top tips when playing and interacting with your child:

Get down to your child’s level and communicate face-to-face so that they can see your mouth moving and how you are saying the sounds.
 
Focus on what your child is saying, rather than how they are saying it
Do not try to correct mispronunciation as your child may lose interest and confidence and be less likely to try again.
 
Repeat back any words that your child finds difficult to say
Reinforce the adult pronunciation by repeating the word back clearly for your child to hear in a positive way, e.g. Child: “it’s a bish”, Adult: “oh yes, an orange fish”

What can I do if I can't understand my child's speech?

There can be times where you are not able to understand what your child is saying. This can feel really frustrating for your child and for you. We recommend the following strategies for these moments:
 
  • Ask your child to repeat themselves once
    • Try saying something like “my ears weren’t working, can you say that again?”
  • Repeat back the part of the message you have understood
    • If you have understood a few words out of the sentence, let your child know what you have and have not understood, so that they know you are listening and then they do not have to repeat the whole utterance again. For example, “I know you’re telling me something about the park, what was the next bit?”
  • Ask questions to narrow down the context
    • Sometimes, when a child is not talking about something in the ‘here and now’, this can make it more difficult to understand what they might be saying. Try using closed questions to find out a bit more, for example “hmm did this happen at home or at nursery?”
  • Ask them to show you
    • If you are still not sure what they are trying to say, ask them to “show me” by taking you to what they are talking about or with objects, gestures or acting it out.

Last updated02 Aug 2024
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