Language Activities for Toddlers — Play and Connection

These strategies are not a substitute for a professional evaluation or therapy. They are useful for all children, and particularly for children on a waiting list or between sessions. If you have concerns about your child’s development, reach out to a professional.

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Follow your child’s lead

The most consistent finding across early language research is that children learn language best when adults follow their attention and interest — not when adults direct the child’s attention to something else.

What this looks like:

• When your child picks up a ball, talk about the ball — not the book you were planning to read
• Comment on what they’re doing: “You’re rolling it. There it goes.”
• Let them choose the play activity and join them in it

This signals to your child that their communication has an effect, which motivates more of it.

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Wait

Waiting is one of the most underused tools in early language facilitation. When you give a child space — a pause, an expectant look, a moment without words — you create an opportunity for them to initiate.

How to practice it:

• Offer a toy, then pause and wait instead of filling the silence
• Get down to their eye level and look expectant (without demanding or prompting)
• Count to five silently before adding anything

Many children who appear not to communicate in busy, fast-paced interactions have a lot to say when given time.

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Parallel talk and self-talk

Parallel talk: narrate what your child is doing in simple language.

• “You’re stacking the blocks.”
• “Oh, it fell down.”
• “Now you’re putting the red one on top.”

Self-talk: narrate what you’re doing.

• “I’m washing the dishes. The water is warm.”
• “I’m cutting the apple. Snip snip snip.”

Neither of these asks anything of the child — they just surround the child with language connected to what’s happening right now. This is one of the primary mechanisms through which children learn vocabulary.

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Expand what your child says

When your child produces a word or phrase, you can expand it by adding one or two words — not by correcting, just by modelling a slightly fuller version.

• Child says “dog” → you say “big dog” or “dog running”
• Child says “more” → you say “more juice” or “want more”
• Child says “daddy go” → you say “daddy goes to work”

Don’t ask them to repeat you. Just model it and move on. Repetition over time is how the pattern takes hold.

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Reduce questions, increase comments

Many adults instinctively ask children lots of questions — “What’s that? What colour is it? What are you doing?” This puts the child in a testing position and can actually reduce communication.

Instead, comment more and ask less.

• Instead of “What’s that?” → “That’s a truck! It’s going fast.”
• Instead of “What colour is this?” → “Oh, it’s the green one.”
• Instead of “What do you want?” → wait and watch what they reach for, then name it.

Questions that invite a choice are better than open-ended tests: “Do you want the red one or the blue one?” gives a child a real communicative moment.

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Turn-taking games

Simple back-and-forth games — rolling a ball, taking turns stacking blocks, peek-a-boo — build the rhythm of conversation before any words are involved.

The pattern of “your turn, my turn” is one of the foundational structures of language. Children who get lots of practice with physical turn-taking often find the turn-taking of conversation easier to learn.

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Read together — but don’t drill

Reading with a young child is one of the most consistently supported home activities for language development. A few things that make it more effective:

• Follow their interest. If they’re pointing at the duck on page 4, talk about the duck — you don’t have to read every word on the page.
• Comment and observe together. “Oh look, the bear is sad. His face looks sad.”
• Let them lead the interaction. A child who wants to turn pages fast or look at pictures upside down is still getting language input.
• Avoid drilling. “Point to the ball. Where’s the ball? Say ‘ball’.” turns reading into a test. Keep it conversational.

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Next: Responsive communication strategies →