Mirrors: The Essential Toy for Playtime Choosing the right toys for playtime can be overwhelming! But a simple mirror can offer incredible developmental opportunities for your baby. Infants as young as 3 months show a strong preference for looking at faces. Multiple studies have shown that look time increases in infants when offered a human […]
At the 9-12 month mark, you should start thinking about weaning your baby from the bottle. Prolonged bottle use can lead to a misshapen palate, protruded teeth, and can cause articulation delays, such as a lisp, later on. And although the seemingly logical transition would be to move on to a sippy cup, there is […]
Using daily routines, like bath-time and getting dressed, are all great times for a language learning opportunity. Breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner times can be important learning times in your child’s daily schedule too. Talking and eating is something social that we all do as adults, so make mealtime another language building opportunity with your […]
Play time with your little one can be a tremendous learning opportunity if done the right way. Some of the big name psychologists like Piaget and Vygotsky were the first to observe the relationship between cognition and play. Cognitive skills can predict play skills, play skills predict language skills, and vice versa. Learning happens through […]
One of your top 10 favorite toys should be one of the simplest of them all… a ball. Along with some of the other no batteries required toys, a ball is a great way to promote word learning and sound development in the pre-talker, and other gross motor benefits for the older kiddo. A ball […]
The evidence on play and language skills being directly related is astounding. Many researchers have found that these two skills go hand and hand. As an expert in language development and play, toy rotation is highly recommended. Toy rotation actually helps your child to increase their attention span with just a few toys per week. […]
Wondering when to start solids with your little one? It seems that the months go by so fast and that time is here before you know it. Parents should know that feeding skills are directly correlated with very important motor skills. So check out the chart below to make sure your little one is ready […]
“Her did it.” Sound familiar? Well your little one is using a pronoun, just the wrong one. Applaud your kiddo for giving it a try, because pronoun acquisition can be tricky, and its an ongoing language development skill until age 4! A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. There are […]
We all know someone who has a lisp, right? There are actually four different types of lisps (see below), but the most common is an interdental lisp, when the tongue pushes through the front teeth and the /s/ sound is pronounced like a /th/. “See” sounds like “thee,” “bus” sounds like “buth…” you get the […]
Hearing is a crucial component to typical speech, language, and cognitive development, so children who have a history of frequent ear infections are at greater risk for language and articulation delays. The first year of life is when your baby is really processing language. If fluid is present in the middle ear, then it can […]
