10 tips to support your child’s speech development

Every parent wants their child to start talking — the sooner the better! Are you wondering, whether you can help a child to do that? In order to enjoy your child’s new skills, I recommend, not only as a neurologist, but also as a mother of a well-developed speech child, to implement these 10 simple tips, which you will find in the following article.

A spoon as a good start

Paediatricians suggest, the best time to start expanding a baby’s diet is when it reaches the age of 6 months. However, every child develops at a different pace. Every parent has a different view on when is the best time.

I truly recommend using the BLW method or its elements (at your own decision), thanks to which the child not only learns the structure of products, their texture, temperature, etc., but also intensively exercises its articulation apparatus. However, not everything can be eaten with the hand. Not all parents choose this method either. In any case, the spoon must sometimes be used.

In the case of spoon feeding, pay attention to a few things. You should know which teaspoon to use and how to feed a child with it.

Let it start step by step:

• the spoon should be firm, flat, not too big and not too deep
• there should not be too much food on the spoon in order not to overfill the baby’s mouth
• place the spoon in a horizontal position in the mouth of the child
• press lightly on the centre of the tongue

The baby should close his lips on the spoon, if he doesn’t, help by gently holding the baby’s upper lip.

• remove the spoon in a horizontal position
  DO NOT rub the spoon against the upper lip

Do not change the position of the spoon, the baby should suck the food on its own. This is necessary for drinking from an open cup and for the articulation of the labial sounds [p, b, m].

What if breastfeeding is not enough or impossible?

Breastfeeding gives the baby all the best: nutrients, antibodies and a bond between mother and child. However, it is not always possible or it is not always enough.

If we have to use a bottle with a teat, it is important to remember that the teat should be as close as possible to the shape of a woman’s breast.

The base of the teat should be hard in order to give the baby stability and to help him feel the position of his labial muscles. The tip, on the other hand, should be soft so that it can follow the sucking rhythm of the baby. The tip expands during sucking and then returns to its original position when swallowed.

When your baby is 12 months old, you should gradually give up the bottle with the teat. Prolonged drinking from a bottle can have negative effects on future articulation.

There are many examples of negative effects, and here are some of the most relevant:

• when drinking from a bottle the tongue is under the teat — this can result in persistent swallowing of the infantile type, where the tongue lies flat on the floor of the mouth and the tip slips between the gums or between the teeth, leading to interproximal epiglottism
• when drinking from a bottle, the tongue only makes piston-like movements when lying down — this in turn leads to reduced tongue muscle function and difficulties with vertical positioning, which is essential for the pronunciation of some of the sounds
• prolonged drinking from a bottle is not indifferent to the bite — prolonged drinking from a bottle can lead to open bite or protrusion (protrusion) of the teeth
• the tongue slips between the teeth — this contributes to the mispronunciation — the interdental septation

Spoon mission accomplished? Time for an open mug!

When your baby has mastered the skill of taking food from a spoon, you can start teaching him to drink from an open cup. Remember that the baby should sit up on his own. The head must not be tilted back or bent forward! Such practices are very dangerous.

It’s a good idea to start with thick liquids, e.g. fruit mousse, when learning to drink from an open cup. These move more slowly inside the mouth. Do not place the cup between the teeth or gums as the child can bite the cup instead of drinking from it.

Rest it lightly on the lower lip, tilt it just enough for the liquid to reach the baby’s lips. Do not pour it into the mouth. The baby should pull the liquid down himself with his upper lip (as when taking food from a spoon). This will activate the articulatory apparatus and in this way also prevent choking.

Why is a non-spill cup not a good choice?

The child should drink from an open cup. Drinking from a non-spill cup with a mouthpiece is similar to drinking from a bottle, i.e. sucking. And this way of ingesting food and drink should end by the baby’s first birthday.

What exactly happens when using a non-spill cup:

• Tongue lies on the bottom of the mouth — it does not stand upright — this has a negative effect on the pronunciation of the sounds and persistent swallowing of the infantile type
• Sucking reflex persists
• Tongue pushes on baby’s teeth, which can cause malocclusion (open bite, protrusion of teeth), interdental septicism

There are more and more so-called training cups, which in some cases are nothing more than non-spill cups. Manufacturers mislead in order to lure the parent who wants to take care of the child’s proper development. Open cups of the “doidy cup” or “reflo cup” type are products worth investing in.

What about a 360 cup?

It is not entirely true that you drink from it as from an open mug. The articulatory organs are arranged in a way similar to drinking from a regular non-spill cup. The child sucks in the liquid and doesn’t pull it down with its lips as in the case of drinking from an open mug.

How about a bottle with a spout?

No, no, definitely no. Unless your child is already 7 years old. Below this age I do not recommend using a bottle with a spout.  This is because the muscles of the lips, tongue and cheeks do not work, which contributes to the reduced dexterity of these organs of articulation. In addition, a bottle with a spout can also contribute to malocclusion and the interdental realisation of sounds.

So which mug to take for a walk?

I recommend a bottle with a straw. While drinking through a straw the lips and cheek muscles work. The child exercises withdrawal of the tongue, maintains the correct position of the jaw and the throat ring. It is safe to use a bottle with a straw when outdoors, but definitely an open cup at home.

What about a pacifier?

Parents often decide before the birth of their child that they will not use a pacofier. However, once the little human is in the world and makes its presence felt, they simply change their minds! And that is quite all right. However, such a pacifier should only be chosen appropriately and only used at the right time.

So which soother should I choose?

The size of the pacifier should be taken into account when choosing it. It should be properly adapted to the baby’s mouth. I recommend pacifiers with a symmetrical shape and dynamic design. This allows for the maintenance of the natural sucking rhythm and the correct development of the articulation apparatus.

It is also worth paying attention to the material the pacifier is made of. It is best to choose a silicone teat rather than a rubber one. Silicone is harder and more transparent, while rubber is softer and has a specific taste. The material should be BPA-free and approved.

The pacifier should only be given in difficult situations, e.g. when travelling and when falling asleep. The soother should not be given when the baby is happy, babbling or playing, as a blocked mouth deprives the child of “speech training”. As well as learning about the world by putting objects into the mouth.

The best time to stop using the pacifier is around 12 months of age. The same applies to the bottle with the teat.

Learning to speak by imitation

The child learns to speak through imitation, including imitating speech sounds (more on imitating the organs of articulation later).

The following exercises are very useful:

• Pay attention to environmental sounds, name them — name an object/animal, then a sound-mimicking word, e.g. “Can you hear that? A dog is barking, it’s a dog. Dog does woof woof” you can add after a while: “how does a dog do?”.
• Show the animals and objects in the books that make sounds, name them and imitate their sounds — there are many books on the market that make the sounds of the world around us. Initially, however, I recommend imitating these sounds yourself.
• Listen to songs in which body parts are named, show them
• Sing simple melodies to your baby while swaying him to the rhythm

Rhythmic countdowns and poems

For example, “Eenie Meenie” is good training for auditory memory and developing a sense of rhythm. Organise games using nursery rhymes, such as “Eensy Weensy Spider”.

Do some listening exercises

Exercises in which you use exaggerated vowel pronunciation, such as imitating vehicles:

• fire truck
• police car
• ambulance

Mum, I’m starting to talk!

Create dialogue situations to allow the child to take on the role of sender. “What would you eat?”, “What colour is the cheese?”.

The child should feel the need to communicate, to name, to ask for something verbally. If the parent only guesses at the child’s body language, or gives the child the objects he or she wants on the basis of finger-pointing, the child will not have to do anything else. So why to speak when it is enough to point the finger or mutter and the parent immediately gives the child what he or she wants?

Play ‘dual roles’ in shared games and dialogues: “Do you want to get a car? Shall I give you a car? Look, the car is on the shelf”.

“There’s a car, a car, do you want a car?” I am waiting for a response. If there isn’t one, I am giving a pattern: “Give me the car, that’s what you want to say, give me the car auto”.

Identify the key words that are initially easy to pronounce: imitative words, words consisting of repeated syllables (mama, papa)
Frequently repeat words that are “important” to the child, e.g. names of toys that the child likes. Organise the environment so that the toys are not within the child’s reach. You can also hide a favourite toy and have fun looking for it.
At first, the pronunciation of a word does not have to sound perfect for the parent to react. It is enough for the child to say at least the first vowel or syllable. You won’t even know it when your child starts naming the objects he or she wants to, repeating every word they hear, feeling the joy of naming the world. Soon he or she will be putting words together into sentences, sentences into longer utterances. They just need to learn about the need for verbal communication.

From imitation to finger plays

The child learns to speak through auditory imitation and imitation of the movements of the articulatory organs.

However, in order for the child to be able to imitate these small movements correctly, it should be able to reproduce movements of the whole body. The gross motor, then the fine motor skills and then the articulatory organs.

Give the child plenty of opportunities to imitate — clapping, tapping objects, “How big are you going to get?”. Present rhymes like “Eenie Meenie” with demonstration. Repeat them frequently. What we hear and repeat repeatedly is easier to remember.

Rhymes combined with finger plays make it easier for the child to remember words.

Finger plays enrich the vocabulary, deepen the emotional bond between parent and child, teach the basics of communication. In addition, finger plays improve fine motor skills — manual dexterity.

It is worth knowing that in the brain, the centres responsible for speech are adjacent to the centres responsible for fine motor skills. Therefore, by exercising fine motor skills, we stimulate the development of speech.

Can making funny faces be developing?

Play in making “funny faces”. Exercises of the articulatory apparatus strengthen the muscles of the speech organs, so that children will have the right conditions for the production of sounds. In addition, such games practice imitating the movements of the articulating organs.

I suggest some basic exercises in front of the mirror:

• tongue on the chin — extend the tongue as far as possible on the chin. The tip of the tongue should be sharpened, in case it is heart-shaped, the frenulum of the tongue (called sublingual) is probably shortened. In such a situation it is necessary to visit a specialist — speech therapist/neurologist.
• fish — draw the corners of the lips inwards to form of a so-called fish
• horse snapping — stick the tongue to the hard palate and stick it out firmly creating a characteristic sound.
• kisses — pull lips together and send kisses
• balloons — take in lots of air to form balloons in your cheeks
• yawning — open your mouth as much as possible, yawning like cats

Reduce watching cartoons to an absolute minimum

The American Academy of Paediatricians appeal that children under the age of 2 should not watch television at all. However, one should consider whether it is only for 2 years. The human brain is malleable throughout life, but it is most malleable during the first 3 years — this is the most valuable time in the child’s development.

Correct stimulation will bring wonderful results, while incorrect stimulation will leave unpleasant traces.

When parents decide that it is time to show a child a cartoon, this should not be done for more than 30 minutes a day. This time should be divided into two 15-minute units. Absolutely no watching cartoons before bedtime.

The left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for speech development and language learning. The right hemisphere is responsible for the reception and processing of sound and visual stimuli. Television activates the right hemisphere of the brain while inhibiting the left hemisphere, thus delaying speech development.

Parents who come to me to consult often report that their child actually spends very little time watching because the television is on “in the background” and the child is playing without looking at the set. In their opinion, there is no problem. Unfortunately, there is.

A television set in the background, lots of toys making sounds, and a radio constantly on mean that the child is attacked with lots of right-hemisphere stimuli and receives too little left-hemisphere — language — stimuli.

A child who watches too many cartoons hears physical sounds, but may have trouble processing speech sounds. He will hear a call, but will not register that Dad is calling him and, in addition, that he is calling him to dinner. Furthermore, mirror neurons, which are responsible for understanding emotions and empathy, are also damaged. As a result, interpersonal and peer contacts are negatively affected.

Watching television accustoms children to activities that are poor in the variety of stimuli they can find in the world around them. Television provides entertainment that does not engage the child’s intellectual potential and does not require thinking or cause-and-effect analysis.

Moreover, the rapidly changing images and sound effects stimulate the child, which has a negative impact on his or her arousal level.

My professional experience shows, that children who watch a lot of cartoons have disturbed interpersonal relations, disturbed/delayed speech development. They show aggressive/auto-aggressive behaviour, emotional problems or lower intellectual level.

Katarzyna Wysocka
Neurologist, sensory integration therapist, audiologist, educator for special needs