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Research-based tips for building children’s language, literacy and social skills

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There’s so much adults can do during everyday activities and interactions to build young children’s language, literacy and social skills. As part of our mission to support parents, educators and other early childhood professionals to build these critical skills, we offer free research-based tips that they can start using right away.

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Language-Building Tips for Parents

Any time is a good time to support your child’s language skills! These tips will help you make the most of the everyday routines and activities you already do with your child to create the best opportunities for them to learn.


Tips for Parents of Children Who Communicate Without Words

Use these tips with children who communicate using a combination of sounds, gestures (e.g. pointing, shaking head for “no”, waving “bye”) and eye gaze (looking at you and then at what he is “talking” about), but are not yet using words.


Featured Tip

Sing songs with your child and build in opportunities for them to take turns

Sing simple songs with your child, especially ones with actions, like “Row Row Row your Boat”, and build in opportunities for them to participate. This is a fun way for them to learn to take their turn in an interaction, as well as to learn new words.

First...

Sing a new song the same way a few times so your child learns the song and its “high point”. High points are the most interesting parts of a song. In “Row, Row, Row your Boat”, the high points are the rocking back and forth while you and your child sit on the floor, holding outstretched hands, and saying the last word after a long pause – i.e., “dream”.

Next...

Once your child is familiar with the song, you can do one of the following:

  • Pause before a high point and wait for them to respond. For example, when singing “Row Row Row your Boat”, sing the song through once or twice and then, still holding their hands, WAIT for them to ask you to sing it again (they will probably make a sound or rock back and forth to ask you to do it again).
  • Start to sing the song while rocking back and forth, pausing mid-song so they can ask you to continue.
  • Slow down and pause before the last word (“dream”), so they can make a sound – any sound – to end the song.

To take their turn during songs, your child may wriggle, make a sound, look at you, point to something or perform an action. Accept anything as their turn and then continue immediately. The most important thing is that they take a turn and have fun while doing it.

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Tips for Parents of Children Who Just Started Talking

Use these tips with children who have started to use single words or who have started to put two words together (e.g. “dog” or “Mommy go”).

Featured Tip

Use many different kinds of words when talking with your child


Make a point of highlighting a variety of word types when talking to your child, not just the names of things. It’s important for your child to learn a variety of word types in order to talk in short sentences. So make sure to emphasize:

  • Action words (sleep, eat, run, push, squeeze, break)
  • Descriptive words (soft, hot, big, sticky, funny, tired)
  • Location words (up, down, in, on, under)
  • Words about belonging (my, your, his, Mommy’s)
  • Feeling words (sad, sick, happy, angry), as well
  • Nouns or names of things (dog, book, bed, cup)

Make sure to repeat these words often and make them stand out when you use them by exaggerating your intonation and slowing down a bit. For example, “Mommy is very... tired (yawn). I must go to bed because I need to have a good sleep. Then I won’t be so tired.”

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Tips for Parents of Children Who Talk in Sentences

Use these tips with children who talk in sentences consisting of a few or many words.

Featured Tip

Expand your child’s vocabulary by introducing a new word to a daily routine


Everyday activities and routines provide great opportunities to help your child learn new words. During bathtime, for example, you can help them learn the word lukewarm. Make a comment that uses the word and also describes its meaning, like, “The bath water is lukewarm – it’s not too hot, just a little warm.” Then make sure to repeat the word every time you do that routine. Lastly, think beyond that particular routine and plan how you could use the word in other situations. For example, you could use lukewarm when talking about tea or coffee or soup! Help your child understand more about the word when you use it. For example, “I like my tea to be very hot. Lukewarm tea isn’t hot enough and it doesn’t taste good.” The more situations you can get your child thinking about the word, the better they’ll understand it and the more likely they’ll use it on their own when they’re ready.

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Communication-Building Tips for Parents of Autistic Children

If you’re a parent of a young autistic child, these research-based tips can help you encourage their social communication skills, while also connecting and having fun together.


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Include Your Child’s Interests

Sometimes you may not be sure how to get an interaction started with your child, especially if they often play alone or have specific or unique interests. Including Your Child’s Interests is a strategy from the Hanen More Than Words® Program that can help you get a back-and-forth interaction going with your child.

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School Readiness Tips: Language and Literacy

Language and literacy are two of the most important skills children need in order to be prepared for school. Whether you’re a parent, educator, or clinician who works with families, these research-based tips can help you build the best possible foundation for academic success.


Featured Tip

Promote Critical Thinking Using Explanations and Problem Solving


Have conversations with children that include thought-provoking questions and explanations. Not only does this build their vocabulary, it helps them make connections between actions and events. Here are some fun tips to try in different situations:


Playtime

Act out a real-life problem during pretend play. For example, “Oh no, Panda and Teddy both want to sit in the truck, but there’s only room for one of them!” Encourage the child to talk through a solution. Ask questions like, “What should they do?”


Daily Activities

When things go wrong during the day, use the opportunity to build language by offering an explanation. For example, “The juice spilled because the cap on the bottle was loose.”.


On the Go

While on a walk, make comments that draw the child’s attention to why things appear a certain way. For example, if the child notices some flowers that are bent, say, “Those flowers are bent because someone stepped on them.”


Book Reading

When you finish reading a book, talk about the problem the characters faced in the story and see if the child can think of alternative ways the problem could have been solved. For example, “What else could the little pigs have done to protect themselves from the wolf?”


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