Play Matters: How Play Builds Speech and Language Skills

Play Matters!

We are often asked by parents of children with language delays, “What can we be doing at home to help our delayed talker?”

The simple answer is… PLAY!

Play is how children learn best—and it is one of the most powerful ways to support speech and language development. 

How You Play Matters More Than What You Play With

You do not need to go out and buy new toys. The specific toy doesn’t matter nearly as much as how you use it.

Great language-building toys you probably already have at home include:

•           Cars

•           Blocks

•           Puzzles

•           Balls

•           Kitchen items

•           Baby dolls or stuffed animals

•           Pretend food

•           Mr. Potato Head

•           Even plastic cups!

When playing with your child, try to:

•           Get down on their level

•           Sit face-to-face

•           Follow their lead

Pretend play activities—like cooking, taking care of a baby or stuffed animal, or fixing things with tools—are especially helpful for language growth.

As you play, talk like a sports announcer, describing what’s happening:

“The car is going fast!”
“Baby is hungry.”
“Uh oh! It fell!”

This is a perfect opportunity to model the language you want your child to use. A rich language environment builds strong future talkers. 

Model, Don’t Quiz

There is no need to quiz your child by asking questions like, “What’s this?”
Instead, model the language:

“Look, it’s a ball.”

Children need to hear the words we want them to say—many times—before they can say them themselves.

For early talkers, short phrases work best.
A helpful rule of thumb is to use one more word than your child currently uses.

For example:

“Go car!”
“Push it!”
“Go! Go! Go!”
“It’s fast!”
“Your turn!”

Avoid correcting speech directly. Instead, encourage all attempts and praise communication.

If your child says something incorrectly or out of order—
For example, “ta fwast” (car fast)—
You can acknowledge and model it correctly:

“That’s right! The car goes fast!”

Avoid laughing or repeating the error the way it was said. 

Repetition Is How the Brain Learns

Have you ever wondered why your child wants to:

•           Read the same book over and over

•           Sing the same song repeatedly

•           Watch the same episode again and again?

That’s because their brain is learning through repetition.

How many times can we sing Wheels on the Bus in one day? 😊
The same is true during play.

Your child may want to hear:

“Baby is hungry.”
“Baby eats.”
“Yummy!”

…again and again. Their brain is working overtime to absorb and learn this language. 

Pause and Give Them a Chance to Talk

Silence is important too.

After you model language, pause for a few seconds. You don’t need to fill every moment with talking.
That pause gives your child a chance to attempt a word, sound, or gesture. 

Skip Baby Talk—But Keep It Fun!

Use a warm, happy, animated tone, but avoid baby talk or made-up words like “ba ba” for bottle.

We want children to hear real words, spoken in an engaging way.
(There’s a reason so many kids love Ms. Rachel!)

In Summary

•           Play matters

•           What you play with doesn’t matter

•           Get on your child’s level and play face-to-face

•           Model language—don’t quiz

•           Use short, upbeat phrases (one word longer than their current level)

•           Repeat, repeat, repeat

•           Pause after modeling

•           No baby talk—but keep a fun, happy tone

•           Most importantly… have fun!