Toddler Vocabulary Explosion

January 15, 2021 Stephanie Keffer

Between their first and second birthdays, children typically experience an explosion of new vocabulary. During this time, many children learn to say anywhere from 100 to 500 new words. By the time toddlers are three years old, they use about 1,000 different words.

To remain on track in their vocabulary development, your child should learn to say at least one new word every week. If your toddler stops using their words suddenly, this is a red flag — I would encourage you to speak with your pediatrician.

Tips for helping toddlers learn to say new words and grow their vocabulary

Tip 1 - Practice in categories

One way to easily track your child’s progress and ensure they’re learning a new word each week is to practice in categories. A great way to categorize words is by what activity those words are associated with. For example, soap, towels, water, and bath are all associated with bath time.

I recommend choosing a different activity to focus on for vocabulary each week. These should be normal, daily activities — for example, in week one, continually say aloud actions and objects used during bath time. In week two, repeatedly say aloud actions and objects used during snack time. Pick a new activity each week. As you practice, if your toddler attempts to say a new word but mispronounces it, that’s okay. Celebrate their attempt, and simply repeat the word back to them with the correct pronunciation. This will help your toddler get closer to the right pronunciation over time. If you think your child *might* have said a word, act as if they did, even if you aren’t sure. It’s important to praise any and all attempts to say new words! This is a great accomplishment, and over time, your child will associate trying new words with your happiness and enthusiasm.

Tip 2 - Teach adjectives and verbs in addition to nouns

The next important component of growing your child’s vocabulary is making sure you teach verbs and adjectives in addition to nouns. It is usually easiest to teach nouns—people, places, or things—because there are physical examples that you can hold or point to when you talk about them. However, it is necessary to teach verbs (action words like eat, sleep, and run) and adjectives (descriptive words like big, red, or happy) as well.

Use these words frequently during play and daily activities to flood your child’s mind with all types of new words. When you practice verbs, speak the word aloud as you do the corresponding action. For example, every time you push your child on a swing, say “Push!” Practice adjectives by describing the items you use during an activity. For example, during snack time, repeatedly label your food as “chewy” or “crunchy” while you eat. Once your child learns enough nouns, verbs, and adjectives, they can start combining these words to speak in phrases and sentences.

Tip 3 - Practice with things your child likes

Finally, when learning to say new words, pick activities that your child enjoys! This will help captivate them and sustain their attention for a longer period of time, both of which will help them learn. The longer you hold your child’s attention, the more you can use new words to talk about the items, people, and actions involved in your activity.

For more tips to encourage vocabulary growth, check out this at home lesson - Teaching toddlers to say specific words

3 activities to grow your child’s vocabulary at home - Free PDF download ↓

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Teaching Toddlers New Words Activity: Songs with Missing Endings

Materials:

None needed.

Set-up:

You and your child are going to sing some familiar songs. This can be any song that your child is familiar with: from nursery rhymes to lullabies to movie songs or songs from your religious or cultural background.

For this practice, it is best done with just your voice, not the recordings of the songs. And don’t worry, I promise that your toddler doesn’t care if you have a beautiful singing voice or not :)

What to do:

You are going to sing a familiar song with your child, but pause to allow them an opportunity to participate by completing a phrase.

What to say:

Begin singing a familiar song with your child. Use the hand motions if you typically use them for this song. As you get to the repetitive line or chorus, stop right before saying the last word or last few words of the phrase. Look at your child expectantly while pausing… to see if they fill in the break where you stopped.

This could look like this:

“The Itsy Bitsy spider went up the water spout. Down came the rain and washed the spider… “

Pause to see if your child finishes by saying “out”

“Let it go, let it go. Can’t hold it back anymore. Let it go….”

Pause to see if your child finishes by saying “Let it go”

Offer excitement and encouragement if your child tried to fill in that final word, even if it didn't sound quite right.

If after a few seconds, they don’t fill in that final word, go ahead and fill it in yourself. And keep singing. You can try again later in that song when that chorus comes up. Or try again next time.

You can do this with various songs throughout the day or week, or with the same song repeatedly.

3 activities to grow your child’s vocabulary at home (songs activity + 2 more!) - Free PDF download ↓