Encouraging Early Language Development Through Daily Routines

Emma Bowman, M.A. CCC-SLP

Language development in young children is crucial, and incorporating simple daily routines can make a significant difference. Here are three daily routines—bath time, meal preparation, and bedtime stories—that you can choose to focus on incorporating strategies from to help facilitate and encourage strengthening your child’s language skills.

Bath Time: Splash and Talk

Bath time is a fun and engaging opportunity for language learning. Try modeling single words or simple phrases related to bath time, including “water”, “wash hair”, “bubble” or “soap”. This is also a great opportunity to work on recognizing and labeling different body parts. Try narrating as you wash and emphasize the different body parts as you’re washing them: “Let’s wash your arms!”, “Wow, the water is on your head”, or “Ouch, the soap is in my eyes!”. You can model fun, playful sounds related to bubbles or water, like “pop” or “splash”, or have toys slide down into the water and say “wee!”.

Preparing Meals: Involve Them in the Process

Cooking together is not just about preparing food, it’s also a fantastic way to expand your child’s vocabulary. Encourage your child to be involved in the process by washing produce, adding ingredients to a bowl, or mixing them. While doing these tasks, label the ingredients (e.g., apple, celery, carrots, salt, spices), talk about their colors, shapes, texture, smell and temperature: “This carrot is cold and bumpy” or “That pineapple tastes sweet and sour”.

Bedtime Stories: The Magic of Reading

Ending the day with a bedtime story is one of the best routines for language development. Choose books with colorful illustrations or that are engaging for the child. In addition to reading the words on the page, you can also take time to model pointing and labeling to the illustrations. If the child has trouble attending to the storytelling, don’t be afraid to skip reading the words on the page and only talking about the pictures. As you go through the pages, point and pause as you look at characters, foods, transportation, etc., and wait to see if your child will try labeling independently. After pausing, you can label what you’re pointing to before moving onto the next image. Narrate your thought process when you come across a problem in the story: “Oh no! He spilled paint on his shirt! I wonder how he’ll fix it”. Find and talk about connections you may have with the story: “We have a dog at home too!”, “I saw a train today”, “I love playing in the snow too”. If the child is building their language skills and are familiar with the story, try taking turns telling the story just by looking at the illustrations.

Conclusion

Incorporating these daily routines into your child's life can significantly support their language development. The beauty of language development is that it can happen anywhere! Try involving your child more in your daily routines. Choose 1 routine a day to focus on incorporating these language strategies and ideas to help support and grow their language. With just a little effort, you can turn mundane daily moments into rich opportunities for language learning!