Language Development Activities for Two-Year-Olds

Adult-child conversations are an important part of healthy language development, a study in "Pediatrics Journal" reported. The Nemours Foundation agrees, stating that the more children are involved in interactive play and conversation, the more they will learn. When your child is between the ages of two and three, during a growth spurt of language skills, look for ways you can add rich language input to playtime.

  1. Read

    • Choose books about familiar topics, but also expand your child's horizon by selecting books that will introduce new ideas. Don't just read the books. Answer your child's questions about the pictures and ask several of your own, using the book as a springboard for conversation: What are they doing? How many turtles are there? What color is the hat? Encourage pretend reading; ask your child to read to you.

      Make your own books to document experiences together, such as a trip to the zoo or your gardening endeavors. Read your homemade books again and again.

    Play Word Games

    • Recite nursery rhymes and make use of other activities that encourage playing with language. Give your child an example of rhyming words and ask him to come up with another word that rhymes. Don't worry if your child does not have an answer yet. She will before you know it.

    Sing

    • Consider songs such as "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes," which can help with learning the names of body parts. But any kind of songs will do: songs with actions, silly songs, or your own made-up songs. Just have fun singing together.

    Cook

    • As you cook together, talk about what you are making. Recite the names of the ingredients, explain your actions, and discuss the smells and tastes of different foods. Can you smell the bread baking? This soup is salty. Can you taste the mint in these cookies?

    Puppets

    • Make two simple stick or sock puppets that can have a conversation. Model how they might talk to each other, then have your child contribute to the conversation, taking over one puppet.

    Play Phone

    • Use two play phones, one for you and one for your child, to have a conversation over the phone, yet face-to-face. Then pretend you call Grandma or Grandpa and give your child a turn to talk. Create imaginary phone conversations with your child's stuffed animals or favorite cartoon characters.

    2. Previous:

    Next:

    • Cooking Crafts for Toddlers
      Your toddler is years away from being able to cook meals on his own, but he is old enough to learn about food preparation. You can take small steps to introduce him to your kitchen environment and give him some cooking pointers with hands-on crafts.
    • Sensory Table Activities for Toddlers
      For toddlers, learning is more than memorizing letters and numbers. Its an all sensory experience. Incorporating all five senses helps to increase attention and retention, and encourages the two halves of the brain to work together to problem solve a
    • Games for Teaching Preschoolers How to Use a Mouse
      With technology playing a significant role in daily life, it is important for children to learn to use a computer. Toddlers as young as 3-years old can be taught to manipulate a computer mouse to access child-friendly learning games. Since their mind