Getting Face-to-Face
How getting face-to-face encourages babbling and talking…
Children learn to talk by imitating adults, and a huge part of imitating speech is being able to see what other people are doing with their mouths. In order to help your child learn to talk, you should make sure they can see your face and mouth as much as possible while you’re talking.
Making sure your child can see your face is another skill that requires you as a caregiver to change what you would normally do. To achieve this, you may have to sit on the ground next to your child or move things around a bit so you can get face to face.
Another fun way to practice with this strategy is to sit your child in your lap facing you! You can make a silly game out of babbling and talking back and forth.
Getting face to face helps toddlers learn to talk because it make it easier for them to copy us!
Tips for practicing speech activities face-to-face
Tip 1: Can they see your face?
As you go about your day today, think about where you are in comparison to your child when you’re talking to them.
Are you talking to your child while they’re playing in another room?
Is your child’s back to you when you're talking?
Just being mindful of where your body is when you're talking to your child is a fantastic first step.
If you notice that your child often cannot see your face when you're talking to them, then you can begin to adjust your behavior. Simply move your body to a place where your child can see your face when you’re talking to them.
Tip 2: Face-to-face with an active toddler
If your child is very active and doesn’t sit in one spot long enough for you to talk to them so they can see, try creating an environment for practice where they can't move too far.
For example, you could try practicing while your child is in the bathtub . During bath time, your child can move and play in the water but won’t be able to get out of the bath and move far away from you.
Remember, we want to focus on practicing skills when your child is happy and receptive to learning, so if your child doesn’t like bath time, try something else, like playing at a coffee table. Place your child’s toys on the table, and allow them to move around the table playing with different toys. As long as you sit down at the coffee table with them, they can still see your face.
You can also practice getting face to face while your child is
contained in a high chair or activity table
sitting in a wagon
swinging on a swing
Tip 3: Getting their attention
Another benefit of your child being able to see your face is that you know that they’re paying attention to you. Children are most often thinking about whatever they’re looking at, so if your child is playing with their toys and looking down at the ground as you talk to them, they’re probably thinking about their toys and not what you’re saying.
By positioning your body in a place where your child can easily see your face, you help them shift and hold their attention on you or a shared activity. In the long run, getting into the habit of moving so that your child can see your face before you talk to them is an excellent way to improve their understanding and reduce frustration for both of you.
Getting face-to-face speech therapy activity
In this activity, you will be identifying ways to make it easier to face your child while they play in different places in your home. Facing your child is an easy way to engage, have them pay attention to you, and help them be ready to learn to talk.
You can follow along by downloading a free PDF copy of this activity ↓
Question 1: Where do they play?
Look around your home and think about the different places your child plays. Some places may be in their highchair, the kitchen floor, the bathtub, a sandbox, etc.
If you’ve printed out our handout, follow along.
If you are using your own paper, create a list on the left side of the page.
List them below on the left side:
____________________ ____________________
____________________ ____________________
____________________ ____________________
____________________ ____________________
____________________ ____________________
Question 2: Where are you?
In each of the places you listed above, is there a spot for you to be so that your child can see your face?
Write that location next to each play area on the right side. If it would not be possible for your child to see your face, write an X.
Question 3: What's not working?
If there are any play areas that do not have space for you (marked with an X in your list), write them below on the left side:
____________________ ____________________
____________________ ____________________
____________________ ____________________
____________________ ____________________
____________________ ____________________
Question 4: What can you change?
If there is not a place for you to be, how can you change the environment to allow your child to see your face? Write that on the line on the right.
This may seem like an overly simple or easy strategy, but don’t be fooled! This is one of the best ways to help encourage babies and toddlers to say new sounds and words!
Leave a comment and let us know your favorite activity for face-to-face learning!!
More at home speech therapy strategies:
Focused Stimulation: Repeating words to help toddlers learn them - https://toddlertalk.com/blog/focused-stimulation
Questions Versus Comments: The power of what you say - https://toddlertalk.com/blog/comments-over-questions
Child Led Play: How following your child’s imagination can help them learn! - https://toddlertalk.com/blog/toddler-imagination
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