Ultimate Guide of Ways to Prepare for Play
I often hear parents complain their child won’t play alone, or will only play with a toy for minutes at a time. They are frustrated with so many toys scattered around the house, with children never helping put them away. There’s pressure to entertain kids all day with endless toys, and the store toy aisles […]
28 Experiences to Build Language
It’s no surprise as a pediatric speech-language pathologist, I try to find opportunities to build language everywhere I go. Introducing our children to new experiences help expand those skills, and keep it fun! Just by talking and reading to children throughout our daily routines, we expose our young children to millions of words daily! Children […]
Pretend Play
Research indicates there are several risk factors for delayed language skills, developmental delays, and cognitive delays. One of the risk factors is decreased pretend play skills. Pretend play begins to develop around 12-18 months, but isn’t mastered until 3-5 years. What is pretend play? Children develop pretend play skills later, after functional play and constructional play […]
Top 20 Everyday Non-Toys for Language Development
Why is it that I’m always more excited by a new toy than my toddler? He’s perfectly happy with the diaper wipe box, kitchen utensils, and my scarf. Actually, most of his favorite play things aren’t toys at all. The everyday items he finds around the house and yard are where his creativity, curiosity, and […]
Helping Parents and Children with Independent Play
I’ve come to absolutely love playing with my toddler. His little belly laugh is delightful and his imagination surprises me daily. But as a first-time parent, I thought play had to be extraordinary to be “right” and that allowing independent play was lazy on my part. Admittedly, I’m not super creative and don’t set aside […]
Why is play important?
As a pediatric speech-language pathologist, I’ve been asked by other parents in therapy “When will he talk? All you do is play!” I’m pretty sure my husband thinks I only make playdough creations and play Go Fish. Actually, he’s not wrong – I do A LOT of play in my job, but purposeful play is […]
Gratitude & Speech Therapy
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of the virtues, it is the parent of all the others.” –Cicero We have a beautiful massive tree in our backyard that drops it’s leaves by the billions each Autumn. Ok, not really billions, but when it’s time to bag them up it definitely feels like too many! As […]
Top 20 Toys for Language Development
As a speech-language pathologist and mother, I play with ALOT of toys! Specifically toys that promote speech and language development, develop play skills, and foster independence. I have found that the best toys are able to provide opportunities to learn new concepts, engage children socially, experience new sensory input, and build your child’s imagination. Her’s […]
10 Tips for Choosing Toys for Speech & Language Development
10 Tips for Choosing Toys for Speech & Language Development Everyone wants to know what are the best toys out there for children. With so many choices available, it’s easy to just buy what you see in the store. BUT lucky for you – you don’t need fancy, expensive, trendy toys to build speech and language! […]