Let's Talk! Let's Talk! Let's Talk!

Hello all,

As adults, we do not realize the critical importance of talking with children and, as a result, we spend most of our time talking to children (e.g., telling them what to do). Having conversations with children helps them develop their vocabulary, it helps them learn the rules and conventions of our language, and it presents them with a great opportunity to ask questions and to learn many new things. In addition, by initiating conversations with children when they are young, they become comfortable talking to you and it becomes easier for them to talk to you when they are older about serious issues (e.g., bullying at school).

There are many simple ways to engage in conversations with young children. These conversations can be centered around books that you read together, events you attend, or even around a question the child may ask. You can also initiate conversations when you play with your children. For example, if your child is building with blocks, you can have a conversation about what the blocks represent and make up a story together about the structure the child may be building.

During the early years, children's language skills grow very quickly. They learn the words they hear and the words that are spoken to them. By the time children are three, they have a vocabulary of nearly 1,000 words. So how do you initiate conversations with your children? You may find the following tips helpful:

• Children love to ask questions. Build your conversations around these questions and ask your own.
• Talk about what your child is doing and what you're doing. Ask questions that extend their thinking such as, for example,"what kind of picture are you drawing?" or "what do you think will happen next in the story?" and "what is your favourite part of the story?"
• Practice taking turns in conversations.
• Read with your children. Involve them in the reading. If they are still too young to read, do a "picture walk" with them and have them tell the story looking at the pictures and using their own words.
• Continue to have conversations with your children in your first langauge. Research has shown than language skills transfer over when children learn another language.

Remember, it is largely through conversations with more experienced adults that children come to learn about the world outside their own personal experiences. So continue to have fun conversing with your children. As always, if you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to share them with me.

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