4 Ways That Interactive Play Can Nurture Your Child’s Language Skills

There’s no question that early speech development is an important part of your child’s first years. This is when they will set the foundations for being able to effectively communicate with others. But did you know that interactive play can actually help them lay the first bricks to the foundation of their vocabulary? In this article, I will walk you through 4 ways that interactive play can nurture your child’s language skills.

Before children head off to school, they will spend the majority of their time playing. This is their way of exploring the world and learning new things. As they are introduced to more and more objects, settings, and colours, you will notice that their vocabulary begins to expand. By the time they are two years old, many children will have an impressive vocabulary. They will also rely on one-word sentences to communicate their thoughts, feelings, and needs with the people around them.

Here are the top four ways that interactive play can nurture your child’s language skills:

1. Interactive Play Encourages Your Child to Practice Their Language Skills

When you engage in interactive play with your child, you are giving them opportunities to practice their language skills and communicate with someone other than themselves. Practice is an essential part of learning any new skill, but it is especially important for children who are just learning how to talk. That’s why it’s important to encourage your child to practice their language skills as often as possible.

2. Interactive Play Opens Your Child Up to Learning More Words

Have you ever noticed your child picking up on certain expressions or words that you said in front of them? As they become more familiar with the world around them, their minds are like sponges. This means that they can catch on quickly to things, especially speech and language. When you engage in play with your child, you are teaching them new words and expressions, whether you realize it or not.

3. Interactive Play Encourages Two-Way Conversations

When you play with your child, you are engaging in two-way conversations with them. This will likely be their first experience with two-way conversations, so it is up to you to introduce them to how they work. To do this, you can repeat words that your child says and use nonverbal cues when they are talking such as smiling or nodding in agreement.

4. Interactive Play Gives You the Chance to Provide Feedback

Regardless of what age you are, when learning a new language, it is important to receive feedback from someone who is an expert in that language. This is how we learn to refine our pronunciations and grammatical errors. Providing language feedback to your child when you are engaging in interactive play is easier than you might think! All you have to do is repeat their words and phrases back to them while using proper pronunciations and grammar. Your child will put together the rest naturally, with time.

How To Practice Interactive Play with Your Child

There are plenty of different ways to practice interactive play with your child. One way that I recommend is showing them images to reflect on and then prompting conversations about the images. To make this fun and easy for children and parents, I’ve developed a specialized E-STIP deck. With 150 unique cards designed to facilitate interactive play between you and your child, this is a great option when it comes to instilling a solid foundation for communication in your children.