This afternoon I took my youngest son, now 11 months old, to get his first real haircut. There was about a 15 minute wait, and as much as I would have loved to relax with a magazine or catch up on my email, the new walking skills my son has developed completely prevented that from happening. The shelves of neatly displayed shampoo, conditioner, and other assorted hair products would have been wiped clean in a nanosecond! So instead we played, and practiced communicating.
1. Turn-taking/social games: Logan pushed the chairs across the waiting area, I pulled them back. Logan pushed the chairs across the waiting area, I pulled them back, and on, and on, and on (he squealed with delight the entire time).
2. Action imitation: Drumming and knocking on the seat of the chairs, clapping for Logan's amazing achievements (see #1).
3. Sound imitation: Engine noises as we pushed the chairs around. "Uh-oh" when he fell down.
The beauty of all of this is that Logan initiated it (versus me forcing something he wasn't interested in), it was wonderful fun for him, and the joy it brought him also had me laughing. The more fun two people have while communicating, the longer the interaction will last. We played one game for that 15 minutes, and it was repeated over and over. Guess what Logan's new favorite word is? "Uh-oh."
Remember: Repetition, repetition, repetition! Fun, Fun, Fun! Those are the keys to building new sounds and words in kids just learning to talk!
Time to share: What are some of the most random places that you've been able to "practice" communicating with your child?
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