I have found in the consultation, especially in those home visits, that many times parents have difficulty finding appropriate toys that promote the development of language and speech in our children.
Early language proficiency correlates with later development of reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Parents are primarily responsible for observing our children and knowing if they are progressing adequately in their ability to express feelings, understand social situations, solve problems and make good decisions, etc. so it is always good to know what to expect from our children in terms of language. From the baby's babbling, the toddler's first words, the preschooler's short phrases to the storytelling of older children.
These areas are stimulated and developed through play. That's our children's job and we must give them the tools they need to do it successfully. Speech therapists can help parents with the selection of toys in order to make better use of them, improve the quality of play and the reproduction of their children's experiences.
Parents often get carried away by advertising and buy our children many toys that entertain them but do not promote speech. That's why my recommendation is to provide your child with toys that promote talking and role play, such as people, animals, puppets, vehicles, houses, farms that help simulation games, promote social interaction, imitations of sounds, words and dialogues.
I leave you with a list of characteristics that according to the renowned American phonoaudiologist Sherry Artemenko, winner of the PAL (Play Advances Language) award, parents should look for in their children's toys if they want to stimulate the development of language and speech:
- Provides numerous opportunities to describe multi-sensory characteristics for the child.
- Offers faces and characters to encourage conversation.
- Provides flexibility, you can use the toy in a variety of ways.
- Encourages interaction, dialogue and storytelling.
- Contains related accessories to promote the simulation game.
- Encourages imagination and creativity.
- Teaches specific language concepts through play.
- Develops pragmatic social and language skills.
- Provides entertaining, easy-to-tell stories with eye-catching illustrations.
- Promotes pre-literacy, rhyming, new vocabulary, etc.
- Provides the opportunity to teach critical thinking skills such as comparison/contrast, inference and prediction.
- Invites dialogue on issues that promote character formation of the child.
Remember that it is not necessary to fill children with so many meaningless toys and that children want to share their experiences with you. You are the best stimulation for your little ones.