Becoming an effective communicator might sound like a difficult task when it comes to talking to your newborn baby or toddler. But with little effort, talking to your child might be fun!

When talking to kids under 5, most parents make the mistake of assuming that their child will understand every word they say. But children have their own way of understanding, talking and communicating with adults. If you can learn a few tricks, then talking to your baby or toddler gets much easier.

Why Talk to Your Newborns and Toddlers

The more you communicate with your child, the more successful he/she will be in developing reading, writing and interpersonal skills as he/she grows. These three skills are closely related to speech and language skills a child acquires as a baby or a toddler.

Effective tips to talk to your newborns up to age 1

• Smile at your baby when he/ she is cooing, gurgling or vocalising.
• Look at your baby as he/ she babbles and laughs, rather than looking away or talking to someone.
• Make time to give your baby lots of loving attention.
• Imitate your baby’s vocalisations, then wait for your baby to make another sound and repeat that back. Gestures are a way babies try to communicate, so imitate your baby’s gestures as well.
• Do your best to respond, even when you don’t understand what your baby is trying to say.
• Engage your baby’s listening skills by talking often so that he/ she begins to associate these sounds of language with everyday objects and activities.
• Repeat simple words like ‘mama’ and ‘papa’ often and clearly so your baby begins to hear familiar words and associates them with their meaning.

Effective tips to talk to your toddlers

• When your toddler is about to throw a tantrum, just kneel down, look into your child’s eyes and ask him/ her if he/she is angry. This way you can make your toddler feel that you understand his/her feelings and that it’s okay to feel frustrated or unhappy at times.
• If you want to communicate with your toddler about safety, keep it short and simple. Toddlers will not understand when you over explain.  So it’s highly important to use a word or two to insist that it’s not safe to do what he/she is doing right now. Sometimes, a simple ‘no’ will help. But if your toddler has grown out of that word, all you can do is baby proof your house.
• When you want your toddler to follow routines like bathing or preparing the bed, don’t ask if he/she wants to take a bath or go to sleep. Just tell it’s time for a bath or to go to sleep. Making a statement rather than enquiring is the best way to get your toddler to do things that needs to be done without a choice.
• Toddlers have very little idea about time, so telling them that they have to get dressed in 10 minutes to go out will make no difference. So, instead of giving a time frame, describe a series of events. Example:  Let’s imagine you need to go for a wedding. Describe the series of events to your toddler who is playing in this order:
  1. We’ll put away your toys first.
  2. Then, we’ll clean your room.
  3. After that we’ll get ready so that we can all go out.
• Use simple and short words to handle your child at the table.
• Encourage your child to make simple choices as a daily routine. This will boast his/her confidence.
• Appreciate your child when he/she does something good. Explain what he/ she did right and how you liked it. Though the child may not be able to grasp what you’re saying, your facial expression will send positive notions that the child will understand. Appreciation for the right thing will also motivate the child to do things right.
• When teaching your child to read, try to point out at different things in the same book every time you read. This way you can introduce your child to more subjects and words that will help him/her to make a language connection.

Following these tips will help in effective communication with your child.

References:
raisingchildren.net.au/talking_with_kids/talking_to_toddlers_guide.html
http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/language/talking-to-toddlers
http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/newborn_talking.html