Baby Care Tips: Learning Tips for Kids Older Than 1 Year

By the time a child is one year old, they will have managed to have a vocabulary of their own. Some may be capable of pronouncing complete words, others may pronounce something similar to the words and the rest may be using a combination of both to express themselves. To ensure they are continually encouraged to learn more words, there are some tips you can use.

12 – 15 months

Many babies at this age may understand 25 or more words and may be able to say two or three words. For example, they may be able to say ‘juju’ when they want some juice. They may be able to simple request such as when you request for a toy or a cup. Some may not even need to use words as they can show what they want by looking at it and babbling, striving to reach for it or pointing at it. You can assist a child in saying words he / she knows by:

• Introduce pretend using the kid’s favorite toy animal or doll. Include the same in your conversations when you are playing
• Build on what the baby says. For instance, if the baby says ‘teddy’ you can say ‘That’s your big, brown teddy.”
• Ask about the things you do on a daily basis. “Do you want juice or milk?”
• Make conversation on what the child wants to say. Be patient and let them tell you what they want to say.
• Clap your hands and / or smile when your child names something that they are able to recognize. You can also add something about the thing he / she has named
• Use a book to teach the child names of things. With time, give your child time to name things in the picture
• Discuss the things you normally use such as doll, juice or cup. Give the baby time to name each of them

16 months to 2 years

By the time your child is at this stage, they will be capable of putting words together like ‘want milk’ or ‘car go’ and follow directions. The child’s communication skills can be spurred by:

• Encourage the kid to pretend play. You can have a party with toy animals, feed the dolls or talk on a payphone
• Encourage him / her to talk to family and friends
• Start teaching the baby simple nursery rhymes and songs, read to them while asking them to point out what they see as they tell you
• Ask the kid to help you. For instance, you can request them to bring you there shoes or to put the cup on the table

2 – 3 years

This is the age where the preschool child’s language skills grow real fast. A baby at this age will be able to string many words together to create simple sentences such as ‘Me want milk’ or ‘Mama bye-bye’. They may also connect to simple questions like ‘Where is Doggie?’ By the time they are 3 years old, they’re most likely in a position to answer questions like ‘What do you do when you are feeling hungry?’