Getting a 20-Month Old to Talk More

Take The Pressure Off With Play

• Try a strategy that Department of Special Education instructor Ann P. Kaiser of Vanderbilt University described in ̶0;KidTalk: Naturalistic Communication Intervention Strategies for Parents and Teachers of Young Children.̶1; Kaiser calls the strategy ̶0;play and engage,̶1; and it is built around the concept that conversation will come naturally to two people focused on a shared activity. Take out some toys likely to stimulate imagination and maintain attention, and get down on the floor with your 20-month-old to play. Kaiser says to let the child lead completely, both in play and in conversation. Kids loosen up when they're playing and are more likely to talk when the pressure is off.

Keep the Conversation Going

• The University of Michigan Health System stresses the importance of continuing to talk to your child, even if he doesn't answer you. It can be all too easy to let the household fall silent, and that isn't going to help the matter. Instead, keep a running narrative going, making comments and asking questions. Make no effort to pressure your child to talk to you and don't demand a verbal answer to a question. However, do give him the opportunity to respond or add to the conversation by pausing where appropriate and waiting. Make eye-contact when you pause and look interested, but not demanding. If he doesn't say anything, just go on as though he did. If he does speak, make the sort of response that makes it easy to keep the back and forth going.

Read Wonderful Books Aloud

• According to KidsHealth, reading to your child is an effective strategy. Reading books aloud helps keep language in the air, exactly the sort of environment you want to create. If you mix in a rotation of old favorites, easily memorized, you might end up encouraging some chiming in. Choose some exciting old-school fairy tales, loud and fun -- ̶0;I'll huff and I'll puff ...̶1; -- and be enthusiastic enough in your presentation that your 20-month-old might want to take a turn at being the Big, Bad Wolf. Read books that spark a conversation, such as what Harold might do next with his purple crayon.

Sometimes it's Just Nice to Be Quiet

• The University of Michigan Health System points to the strength of the bond, the importance of the relationship between parent and child. And, sometimes it's good to just spend time together not even thinking about the speech delay or trying to encourage a single word to be spoken. Your 20-month-old can sense that you're worried. He knows that somehow it has to do with him and that make him feel a bit worried and anxious. Remember to set all the language worries aside on occasion to just be yourselves and to remind your 20-month-old that you love him just as he is, regardless of whether he feels like talking right then.