Progressing conversations with your child
Narrate
Narrating and walking through what you are doing with your kids can help them learn and be exposed to new language even at a younger age. It can also help broaden their understanding of those words when they are able to associate those words with experiences that they’ve seen.
Talk to your child often
Even if it’s just you and your child you should still chat with them. Having easy conversations and asking them questions can help build their social and communication skills to use in the future. You can still do this even in early stages before your child is able to talk!
Don’t criticize mistakes
If your child happens to use the wrong word or pronounce something wrong try to keep language open minded and helpful. This is a vulnerable time for their development and it’s helpful to stay positive as your energy level and emotions will wear on them. Ask questions about what they are trying to describe and try to deduce from context what they may be referring to. You can correct the mistake without using a negative tone.
Play to their interests
Talk to them about things they seem to have interests in so that they want to have the conversation just like you’d do with an adult. They are more likely to converse more and use those conversation skills when they actually want to have that conversation.