Recognise that your toddler may understand more than they can articulate. Allow them to use signs or familiar child-directed speech to communicate wants and express self.
Studies suggest that infant-directed speech promotes infant attention to language, fosters social interaction between infants and caregivers, and informs infants about various aspects of their native language by heightening distinctions relative to the speech addressed to adults.
New developments focussing on the social role of infant-directed conversational interactions highlight the importance of caregiver responsiveness to the infant. Building a communicative foundation even prior to the time language emerges is crucial for fostering language development.
A longitudinal study found that the more baby talk words that infants are exposed to and allowed to use, the quicker they grasp language. Assessments of nine-month-old children suggest that those who hear words such as “bunny” or “choo-choo” more frequently are faster at picking up new words between nine and twenty-one months.
Studies have also shown that children exposed to more than one language have better communication skills D'Souza, D. (2020). Is mere exposure enough? The effects of bilingual environments on infant cognitive development, Royal Society Open Science https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.180191 Singh L, Fu CS, Rahman AA, et al. (2015). Back to basics: a bilingual advantage in infant visual habituation. Child Dev.;86(1):294–302.