It’s that time of year! Trees are going up, and holiday gift guides are coming out. Now that I am the parent of a toddler, I am also happily shopping for kids’ toys. And as a speech-language pathologist, I am always on the hunt for toys that can help promote language development. In case you have a toddler you are also buying gifts for, here are some of my recommendations for toddler toys that boost language skills!
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1. A Baby Doll
The toddler years are prime time for promoting pretend play. Pretending is an important skill in building the idea of symbolism in the brain. In order to learn language, you need to understand that words are symbols for things in real life. If your child isn’t interested in baby dolls, they could still practice pretend play with stuffed animals. Or if you already have a doll, try getting some pretend food or clothes to go with it!
2. Blocks/Duplos
Not only good for practicing fine motor skills, blocks are a great opportunity to practice language. Talk about what you are building (e.g. house, tower, chair). You can also practice having your child request to open the bag, get more blocks, and clean up! Once your child can say “block” or “more” you can work on expanding their utterances by teaching them the colors (e.g. “blue block” or “more red”).
3. Ball
Passing a ball back and forth is great for learning turn-taking, which is not only a great social skill, but good for language too. Conversations happen by taking turns. Your child is learning that when you say something or do something, they’re supposed to say or do something in return!
4. Books
This one is kind of obvious. But books are always a great choice. If you feel like you don’t know how to get your child interested in books, check out my post on how to read to your toddler.
5. Bubbles
Just a fair warning, bubbles are the type of gift that require help from an adult. Most toddlers cannot really play with bubbles on their own. But that’s what makes it a great language tool! Work on having them ask to open the bottle, blow the bubbles, and ask for more. Yes, you could buy one of those automatic bubble machines, but then you’re actually losing a lot of the opportunities for language building. A general rule of thumb is that old school toys are more likely to be better for language than new gadgets, which brings me to my next point…
What NOT to Buy
I actually advise against any electronic toys with screens, flashing lights, or lots of electronic noises, even if they are advertised as “educational.” While these toys are great for occupying a child while you’re cooking dinner, research has shown that these kinds of toys reduce parent-child interaction during play, which is how children learn language. Screen time, especially, has been shown to cause language delays. While there is a time and a place for electronic toys in our lives, use them with caution. The best toys for learning language involve interaction with an adult!
With that said, that means many toys can be great for language. It’s not really about the toy you buy, it’s about how you use it. Focus on taking turns back and forth, modeling words and phrases, and giving opportunities for your child to request and comment. And if you’ve got any favorite toys for child development that I missed, please feel free to share in the comments!