Helping a Child become Noisy
The first 2 blog posts of this seven part series covered the first two developmental skill a child needs to unlock the gift of speech and communication. Those skills are, I want my child to be Watchful and Intentional . This blog post covers the third skill in the acronym, WIN. That skill is, I want my child to be Noisy.
Almost all children make sounds. Some, however, are very quiet, especially during play. How NOISY is your child? What kinds of sounds do you hear? At first, your child’s verbal attempts will not be words. They will include laughing, crying, whining, vowels, consonants, and chains of consonant-vowels.
I LOVE NOISY children! I love seeing children verbalize during play. Initially, I am not at all concerned about whether I am hearing actual words or just jabbering. At this level, I am only concerned about the FUN of verbalizing and not imitation. I want to promote the joy of vocalizing.
What does your child say and where?
We want children to be spontaneously vocal during play. “Jabbering” allows their mouths to explore new sounds. Here are some ideas for increasing “noisy play”.
- Observe where your child is more verbal than normal. One father of a student of mine noticed that his child was “noisy” in the shower. The echo of the shower was enticing for this little boy. That was the location for his father to encourage vocalizing of a variety of sounds, vowels, consonants, chains of sounds, and word attempts. Listen to the sounds that your child says, and imitate them and especially do that in places where your child tends to be more verbal. Is your child more “noisy” with:
- Objects and toys
- Games or situations
- Rooms in the house
- Analyze what sounds you hear from your child. Typically, I will listen for noises, vowel sounds, and any consonant sounds combined with vowels. If a child can say “uh,” I would use that “uh” when you walk up steps. On each step, say “up,” so that your child can hear that the vowel, “uh,” works for this routine. If your child can say, “ah,” you can say that in routines such as turning the water ON for a bath, turning lights ON when going in a room, or putting objects ON a table. Whatever sounds you hear from your child, think about ways you can turn them into functional speech throughout the day.
- Give your child time to respond. Sometimes adults are too noisy, and consequently do not give children time to respond.
- Noises such as animal sounds or vehicle sounds are fun for children to hear and say. Vehicles can say vowel sounds, and you can vary how you say each vowel. Vehicles and animal sounds can also produce a variety of consonant-vowel sounds.
- Laughter will create vocalizing more than any other behavior. To increase “noisy” behavior, create an environment for laughter. Do not give the impression that you want your child to imitate you. Just give the impression that your goal is to have a good time. Enjoy those spontaneous moments and keep them going. Laughter is the best!
Conclusion
When children begin to verbalize, you will hear sounds, vowels, consonant-vowels before you hear actual words. Even laughter is a sound that should be encouraged. When you are engaged in an activity that creates laughter from your child, keep that going. Being Noisy is a great gift!
