Season 5, Episode 6

Children need to hear lots of language in the first 2-3 years of their life. I talk about ways that you can purposefully choose how you use language so that it has the most benefit for your child.

https://www.amazon.com/Thirty-Million-Words-Building-Childs/dp/0525954872

This is an expansion on the past episode I did as a general play skill review; I delve deeper into the stages of pretend play and why a child may not be engaging in skills as would be expected.

The 5 Stages of Pretend Play in Early Childhood - Empowered Parents 'Pretend play' is important to kids’ development - Sanford Health News

This was an interesting newer article about behaviors within pretend play:

A New Theory of the Progression of Pretend Play Development | Psychology Today

Just a little reminder for you about the end goal, the skill, the celebration not reflecting the process that got a person to that skill.

Ms Rachel has become every child's favorite YouTube star! Her videos are educational and animated and fun for our kids. However, watching Ms Rachel or any other educational video may not give you the "results" you are looking for in building language. I talk about why in this episode.

You ask your child to do something. You get a resounding "no"! You push. they push back. Now you're in a power struggle. What can you do? I offer 5 ways to interrupt the dreaded power struggle.

How to End Power Struggles with Toddlers - Kars4Kids ParentingHow to Avoid Power Struggles with Children (verywellfamily.com)

Cooking with your Toddler (meal prep, food assembly, putting a plate together) teaches many different language concepts, independence, and can also help a picky eater with their sensitivity to new foods.

In this episode, I describe targeting skills in a child's "Zone of Proximal Development" to ensure that a child is being challenged, but just enough.

Have a great August-see you after Labor Day!

How Vygotsky Defined the Zone of Proximal Development (verywellmind.com)

I've worked mostly with kiddos under 3 throughout my career, but in recent years I've seen kids up 6 and 7 years old- and I have great news! Even if your child is not using words at 3, that does not mean in all cases that they won't use words.