Motivating Language Development in Preschoolers Goes a Long Way!

Verbal communication for the most part is picked up through imitation and observation. The

more the interactions a child has; the better the influence will be on the cognitive development.

Humans are born with reflexes and senses so that they become aware and relate to them.

Children with time first start to observe, then sense, listen, smell, taste and touch. This process

slowly and steadily helps in the development of the brain, and aids in connecting the body-mind

awareness. The more the interactions a child has; the better the influence will be on the

cognitive development.

Children in their first five to six years go through several stages as their language develops and formulates. The earliest stage in a child is to make cooing sounds, then move on to soft

murmurs and babbling, which advances to creating multi-word sentences. However, you

shouldn’t be deceived into thinking that children understand the complex language; or even the

theoretical concepts; in fact, the opposite is true. Verbal communication for the most part is

picked up through imitation and observation. At some point in infancy, children listen to their

parents’ converse, and then slowly and steadily they start to notice when someone is talking to

them. This in itself is the base for a child's understanding and reasoning of their native

language.

Let us have an overview of early childhood development:-

Babble: The first stage of language development is babbling. This takes place when a child is

three to nine months; babies’ first start to make vowel sounds such as eeeeeee’s and oooooo’s.

After a while they try to talk by adding consonant sounds. Thus, they derive words such as

mama, dada, or gaga.

Single Words and Murmurs: The second stage is around the age of 10 to 13 months, children

learn how to create their set of real words. They manage only some; however, they can

understand and interpret a lot more than they begin to talk. Studies have shown infants begin to

recognize the native language about twice as fast as they are able to construct it. You can

develop the language by teaching them how to wave goodbye, to nod etc. Talking to

preschoolers and listening to when they talk encourages and gives confidence to their oral

language and vocabulary skills.

Multiple Words: The last stage is around the

age of 18 months, children begin to build

sentences using two words and more. They are

short, and with time they begin to use

statements that consist of a subject and

predicate.

It is important to understand that learning for

every child is different and one of a kind. Some

begin to talk early, while others take a little more

time. So, don't be worried and press the child. They will eventually pick up. Whatever you do, do

it with a smile!