Respond to your child's use of words or signs when expressing their wants or needs. For example, when your child says, “Bah” and gestures by pointing to the bread, you can respond, “Oh, you want more bread?” Hart B & Riesly TR. (1995) Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children. Baltimore, MD: Brookes; 1995. Seefeldt, C. (2004). Helping Children Communicate. Early Childhood Today, 19(1), 36–42.
A review of 103 studies by researchers found that language delivered in the context of an adult–child interaction characterised by adult responsiveness and positive regard helps to scaffold children’s learning and encourage verbal behaviours. This is best done in a natural environment with toddlers.
275 families of children aged two to 48 months were enrolled in a cross-sectional study of the home language environment and child language development. The study concluded that adult-child conversations are most robustly associated with healthy language development.
Expansion on what toddlers are saying and asking open-ended questions helps them to think and be more motivated to communicate their thoughts.