10 Toys to Boost Language at Home
Over the holidays, I found myself wandering aimlessly down the toy aisle at Target and feeling incredibly overwhelmed by all of the choices. As a speech language pathologist and mom, I spend A LOT of time thinking about toys. Which toys will be of interest to my clients and my daughter? Which toys will promote language development? Which toys are worth that price tag? I put together a list of my MUST HAVES that I believe are worth the investment AND withstand the test of time. If you are looking for toys that are worth it and help support your child’s development, check out these items. Links included!
1. Bubbles
Bubbles are always at the top of my list. I’ve never met a child who didn’t love bubbles! The opportunities for language are amazing and bubbles are super engaging for the child so you can easily keep their attention. Model words and actions like pop, up, all gone, more, etc.
2. Balls
Balls are super versatile! Simple activities like rolling the ball, building a ball ramp, putting balls in a container, dumping balls out, sending balls through a tunnel or down a slide, or just kicking and bouncing the ball are so fun for language opportunities. Model words and actions like boing, on/off, up/down, uh oh, all done, etc.
3. Vehicles
Vehicles are also another versatile toy! You can use cars, trains, trucks, planes, boats, etc to work on tons of basic early concepts including counting, colors, sizes, and simple prepositions like in/on, under/over, up/down, and top/bottom etc. You can talk about the parts of the vehicles (wheels, doors, etc), you can describe the vehicles and use action words like go, stop, slow, and fast.
4. Play Kitchen
Pretend play is so beneficial for language development AND social emotional development. I love incorporating pretend food and kitchen tools into play. We can practice labeling items, performing different actions, and saying simple phrases “put it in” “mix it” “eat it” “drink” “want more” “yummy” “mama wants some.”
5. Farm Set
Farm animals are so fun for little ones who are not yet talking. We can practice animal sounds, engage in pretend play, practice following directions, and introduce actions/verbs. We play with the animals eating, drinking, running, sleeping, jumping, dancing, the possibilities are endless!
6. Doll House
A doll house or playing with a baby is another great pretend play activity! Lots of opportunities to take care of the baby and model words and phrases for your little one.
7. Stacking Cups
Stacking cups are great for working on simple words like up, down, on, off, in, out, uh oh, fall down. We can also name the colors we see and count the cups. You can expand the activity by filling up the cups, dumping, scooping, etc.
8. Blocks
Similar to stacking cups, blocks are fun for building and working on simple actions and preposition concepts.
9. Books
Books are a FANTASTIC way to work on language at home! Look at the pictures together and point/label what you see. Practice phrases like “open the book” “turn the page” “close the book” “all done.” Books with repetitive phrases are amazing for helping little ones participate as they hear the same words repeated.
10. Musical Instruments
Musical instruments are so fun for learning to identify sound patterns and little ones love to imitate our sounds and actions. Incorporate songs and rhymes to help build vocabulary.
YOU are all you need!
Keep in mind, you don’t really need anything to help your child’s language development! You are always your best tool for helping your child build communication and language skills. Look out for a future post on ideas with everyday household items that are just as good as toys! Also, if you are tired of the light up, flashy, loud musical toys, send this list to you loved ones for birthday gift ideas!
If you have concern regarding your child’s speech or language development, reach out to us today for a FREE consultation.
