Can your child put on her coat when you ask her to do so or give you specific answers to questions like “Do you want an apple or cheese for a snack?” At 2-3 years old, she can understand most sentences and will show her listening and comprehension skills in multiple ways and with increasing ease and mastery. More and more, she can “understand questions and simple directions.”¹ All this shows that she is becoming better at active listening and will soon be showing more advanced Receptive Language skills.

You may notice that your child is becoming more interested in quiet reading time and can better focus on what you are saying. When reading with her, ask questions about the story,² like:

• “Who went to school?”
• “What happened to the doggie?”
• “How many balloons do you see?”
• “Where is the dolly?”

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Be sure to give your child enough time to answer by counting to 10 in your head, so she won’t feel pressured to answer. Though at first she may not be able to answer quickly or correctly, over time you’ll find that her question-answering skills have improved as she improves her Vocabulary Knowledge and Receptive Language skills.

Talking with your toddler is an extremely important part of her Receptive Language education.^1,3 To help her listen and focus on your words, make sure she understands that you expect her to respond to your questions. Try to make your questions about things that affect her directly, such as what she wants to eat, what she wants to wear, whether or not she is tired, and if she’s ready to go home, etc. You can also make a game of asking her to point out her various body parts or familiar things in her surroundings.

Another great way to build your child’s Receptive Language skills is to have her retell stories to you. Start by telling her a simple story, and then ask her to retell the story in her own words, using actions if she likes. Try using board books with pictures only, family photos, or toys to illustrate your story, and give her the creative freedom to retell the story using any of the play props you’ve shown her. Even asking her to repeat everyday instructions is a great way to boost her listening and understanding skills.

Lastly, give your toddler simple, useful work to do around the house!³ As you watch her actions, you’ll be able to gauge her level of understanding quickly and easily. By asking her to bring you your glasses, pick up a toy, or put on her coat, you are giving her an opportunity to show you what she knows, as well as giving her a useful job to do. Not only will these activities build her Receptive Language skills, but it will also give her a sense of importance as she takes part in everyday tasks around the house.

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Play Tips:

Do you want to know how you can support your child’s development of Expressive Language skills at this age? It’s easy! Read on for some simple tips to incorporate into your daily play time together.

1. Engage your child in active listening. Encourageher to listen with intent by asking her to repeat what she has heard. Use open-ended questions that will require her to focus on her listening skills.³
2. Build multi-step tasks into daily chores and routines. Model how to follow the directions before expecting your child to follow them. To be certain that she understands the task or question, ask her to repeat what you’re asking of her.
3. Play “follow the leader” games and songs.⁴ Sing the “Hokey Pokey” or “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” to develop your child’s ability to coordinate word comprehension and movement. Play “Simon Says” to build on listening and instruction skills, as well as to develop an understanding of prepositional words, such as behind, in front of, beside, and under.

Developmental Milestones:

Has your baby achieved the following Expressive Language developmental milestones yet? If yes, check off all the skill(s) she has already mastered to date using Playful Bee’s developmental milestones tracker. It’s absolutely FREE and easy to use, just click HERE!

• Understands most sentences.

(SPECIAL OFFER: Sign up for Playful Bee’s Bee Well developmental learning program to give your baby the best start in life. The first 10,000 children enroll for FREE! Sign up today.)

Sources:

¹Maryland State Department of Education (2010). Healthy Beginnings: Supporting Development and Learning from Birth through Three Years of Age.

²Illinois State Board of Education. For Children Birth to Age Three: Illinois Early Learning Guidelines.

³Zero to Three. What You Can Do to Support Your Child’s Language and Literacy Skills from 24-36 Months. Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families.Retrieved January 7, 2014, from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_par_2436_language_what.

⁴Center for Early Literacy Learning (2010). Listen Up! Center for Early Literacy Learning. Retrieved January 7, 2014, from http://www.earlyliteracylearning.org/pgparents.php.

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Playful Bee

Education Team at Playful Bee

Playful Bee is an e-Preschool that delivers inquiry-based preschool learning from the classroom to your home. Our preschool curriculum was created by our talented team of rock star teachers. With years of hands-on preschool and Kindergarten teaching experience, they've developed a high-quality preschool experience that is convenient-to-use and easy-to-teach by you, grandparents, or your nanny at home.

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