Your Toddler is a Listener

This is a part of a series of articles based on the book How to Maximize Your Childs Learning Ability by Dr. Lauren Bradway and Barbara Albers Hill In this articleEnhancing existing listener skillsDeveloping looker skills in listener toddlersDeveloping mover skills in listener toddlersEnhancing existing listener skills The idea is to give your toddler as much aural stimulation as possible. Make her listen to tapes of nursery rhymes and children songs at home and when driving. You can develop her conversational abilities by encouraging her to be more descriptive about her experiences and to explain the things she says. Try to avoid too much baby talk. Speak to your toddler in using slightly complex sentences so that she will outgrow baby talk faster. Ensure that your toddler has plenty of opportunity for social interaction with other children her age. It may be a good idea for her to join a playgroup and to invite other children over from time to time. Make her play messenger girl between you and your spouse, other siblings, family and friends. Make time to read aloud to her and buy her a picture dictionary that you can go through with her to expand her vocabulary. Make your toddler feel a part of your daily routine. Talk to her while your doing your chores and describe what youre doing. Buy her books that have built-in voices and sounds that can be activated by pressing certain pictures in the books.Developing looker skills in listener toddlers The aim is to make your toddler more receptive to visual stimulation and to enhance her ability to visualize. You can teach her to be more observant. Look at an object together for a few minutes and put it away. Then you and your toddler should take turns describing it. Take her for an outing and point out new sights and various other details to her. Make your child do a little exercise to rest her eyes. She should cup the palms of her hands over her eyes so that any light is blocked and then close her eyes for about ten seconds. Another game will help your toddler to focus. Roll a lightweight ball to each other and ask her to keep her eyes on the ball. Put off the lights and tell your toddler a story in the dark. This will help her to imagine better. You can also play shop with her using pretend money and pretend objects in order to build her visualizing skills. Give her glue sticks, large crayons, old bits of paper and felt, plasticine, and washable markers so that she can indulge her creativity through craft. Developing mover skills in listener toddlers The best way to do this is by encouraging as much outdoor activity as possible. When playing in the park, toddlers usually run, jump, and climb and this encourages the development of their gross motor movements. If you have the space, an inflatable pool is a good purchase. Make your toddler walk along a two-inch by four-inch wooden plank with his arms outstretched. Sing and act out the song, "This is the way we touch our toes…" Pretend that you and your toddler are in a marching band with instruments like the drums and cymbals to keep time. You can also march to music with your toddler to improve his coordination. Act out routine actions like shaving and brushing your teeth and ask your toddler to identify what youre doing. Make a playhouse complete with "doors" and "windows" using old cardboard cartons. Crawl inside with your toddler and play house.

This is a part of a series of articles based on the book 'How to Maximize Your Child's Learning Ability' by Dr. Lauren Bradway and Barbara Albers Hill

Enhancing existing listener skills

The idea is to give your toddler as much aural stimulation as possible. Make her listen to tapes of nursery rhymes and children songs at home and when driving. You can develop her conversational abilities by encouraging her to be more descriptive about her experiences and to explain the things she says. Try to avoid too much baby talk. Speak to your toddler in using slightly complex sentences so that she will outgrow baby talk faster. Ensure that your toddler has plenty of opportunity for social interaction with other children her age. It may be a good idea for her to join a playgroup and to invite other children over from time to time. Make her play messenger girl between you and your spouse, other siblings, family and friends. Make time to read aloud to her and buy her a picture dictionary that you can go through with her to expand her vocabulary. Make your toddler feel a part of your daily routine. Talk to her while your doing your chores and describe what you're doing. Buy her books that have built-in voices and sounds that can be activated by pressing certain pictures in the books.

Developing looker skills in listener toddlers

The aim is to make your toddler more receptive to visual stimulation and to enhance her ability to visualize. You can teach her to be more observant. Look at an object together for a few minutes and put it away. Then you and your toddler should take turns describing it. Take her for an outing and point out new sights and various other details to her. Make your child do a little exercise to rest her eyes. She should cup the palms of her hands over her eyes so that any light is blocked and then close her eyes for about ten seconds. Another game will help your toddler to focus. Roll a lightweight ball to each other and ask her to keep her eyes on the ball. Put off the lights and tell your toddler a story in the dark. This will help her to imagine better. You can also play shop with her using pretend money and pretend objects in order to build her visualizing skills. Give her glue sticks, large crayons, old bits of paper and felt, plasticine, and washable markers so that she can indulge her creativity through craft.

Developing mover skills in listener toddlers

The best way to do this is by encouraging as much outdoor activity as possible. When playing in the park, toddlers usually run, jump, and climb and this encourages the development of their gross motor movements. If you have the space, an inflatable pool is a good purchase. Make your toddler walk along a two-inch by four-inch wooden plank with his arms outstretched. Sing and act out the song, "This is the way we touch our toes…" Pretend that you and your toddler are in a marching band with instruments like the drums and cymbals to keep time. You can also march to music with your toddler to improve his coordination. Act out routine actions like shaving and brushing your teeth and ask your toddler to identify what you're doing. Make a playhouse complete with "doors" and "windows" using old cardboard cartons. Crawl inside with your toddler and play house.