Children learn language by listening to their parents and others talk.  They learn new words and what they mean.  They learn about the world around them.

• Talk with your child and listen while your child talks to you.

• Respond to what your child says and extend the conversation.

“Yes, we did see a truck like that last week.  It’s called a bulldozer.”

• Stretch your child’s vocabulary.  Repeat what your child says and use new words.  “You want a banana?  Yum, bananas are so delicious!”

• Talk about what you and your child are seeing and doing wherever you are – at home, on walks in your neighborhood, at the supermarket, in the car.  “I see something brown – the trunk of that tree.  What do you see that is green?”

• If English isn’t your first language, speak to your child in the language you know best.