Encouraging Language: Walking Edition

With the warm weather approaching, breaking out of the house for a walk is a must! Listed below are a handful of easy strategies to use to encourage language in your little ones.  

• Self-Talk 

  • While walking, talk about what you are doing as a model for your child.

  • Examples: 

    • “I’m pushing the stroller fast!” 

    • “I see a squirrel in that tree!” 

    • “I am holding your hand!”  

• Parallel Talk

  • Narrate what your child is doing on the walk.

    • Examples:

      • “You are walking on the sidewalk!” 

      • “You touched the grass!” 

      • “You picked that flower!”  

      • “You are pedaling your bike!” 

• Label 

  • While pointing at different objects, simply name them for your child.  

  • Examples:

    • “Tree” 

    • “Grass” 

    • “Sky” 

    • “Flower” 

    • “Dog”  

    • “Car” 

• Describe 

  • Pick a few objects your child seems to be interested in and describe them.

  • Examples: 

    • “The sky is blue.” 

    • “The grass is soft.” 

    • “The dog is loud.” 

    • “The sun is hot.”  

• Imitate 

  • You can imitate both what your child says and what your child does to encourage them to do the same with you!  

  • Examples: 

    • If your child says, “baba” you say, “baba”  

    • If your child picks a flower, you pick a flower 

• Comment 

  • Use comments to talk about what you see around you.  

  • Examples: 

    • “That tree is REALLY tall!” 

    • “I am hot in the sun.”  

    • “I want a drink of water.” 

    • “Wow, you are walking so fast!”  

These strategies will not only help create meaningful interactions between you and your child but will also expose your child to new and diverse vocabulary and encourage them to be verbal risk takers. Comment below to tell us your favorite strategy! 

As always, if you have concerns about your child’s speech and language development, ProActive is here to help your child THRIVE!