What to Do When Your Child is Not Talking Yet

Your baby is growing up and taking their first steps. Now you wait patiently for the day he or she will begin to talk but this day begins to appear as if it will never come. In some cases this is exactly what happens and I know from experience. I am a parent of a late talker and know for a fact there are things you can do to help your child learn how to speak.

By a age two your child should be talking a little bit. By age three they should really be talking. If they are not, the first thing you need to do is consult with your child's pediatrician.

Your pediatrician should recommend speech therapy for your child. Speech therapy is similar to physical therapy in some ways. You work closely with a specialist who specializing in speech and communications. When my son, Michael, attending speech therapy he was three years old. Nancy, his therapist, would sit down and play with him during session. While she played with him she explained what things were and each session worked on one word. If they were working on 'ball' he played with the ball. The reason I mention this is because attending these session with him aided me in helping him at home.

That leads into the second thing you can do to help your child. Doing speech exercises at home will help him or her out a long way. Exercises can be playing block and repeating a word over and over again like 'block' and than move on to 'red block'. By repeating words over and over again you child is remember them and will come to understand them easier. Another exercise you can do at home is picture cards. Picture cards are a good way to communicate with your child when they can not talk yet. Pictures of food lets you know your child is hungry. When they hold up the card, say 'hungry'. When they have to go potty say 'potty'. Again, by repeating words you are teaching your child but make sure to use simple, one words like hungry or food.

Another suggestion you can try, and this is my least favorite one, is an early on program. Early on is preschool for children three years and up. The reason I do not like this program is because it is meant for severely disabled children. Children learn by site and attending Early On it can conflict with what your child needs to learn. Keep in mind when reading this I do have a disable child so I know first hand how your child can regress in certain situations and Early On is a program designed for severely handicapped children.

The best way to get your child to learn to speak is by being around others that are talking. If your child is to young for preschool than put them in a day care for a couple of hours a day. Having them around other people, especially children, will teach them by site that this is how things are suppose to be. One a final note, if you child needs or wants something do not give it to him without saying what is. This is the most important thing in helping your child learn to talk.