Children thrive on routine. This is because routines provide a sense of security and stability in an otherwise unpredictable world. Routines create a framework to the day, offering children a sense of control and predictability. It is common for a speech-language pathologist (SLP) to use a routines-based approach when working with children in early intervention (birth-3 years). By incorporating elements from your child’s everyday routine, you are included in the learning experience so that you can implement what is done in sessions on your own time. Routines are: 1) repetitive, 2) predictable and consistent, and 3) natural! Regardless of whether your child is in speech therapy or not, routines are a great way to promote speech and language development in young children.

Typical language development is when a child can understand many more words than they can verbally express. For example, during bath time, your toddler may understand most of your directions (e.g., give me the soap, come out, splash) but they may not have verbally said any of the related vocabulary yet. By consistently modeling the words attached to the routine, you are “mapping” the word onto the object or action. We just celebrated Pesach in which the youngest of toddlers were singing songs and talking about the Pesach story on repeat. How did our 2- and 3-year-olds grasp it all so quickly? The repetition and mapping of the words in English or Hebrew were modeled through pictures or objects or within a song or gesture. It was fun for them and (likely) practiced daily in school. The chagim are certainly a special time where we can see how much information our children absorb and learn.

A child’s vocabulary increases dramatically in such a short time. How many words should your child have? The expected range at 12 months old is 1-5 words, 10-50 words at 18 months, 50-300 words at 24 months, and 250-1000 words at 36 months. Meredith Rowe is an educational psychologist, who researched the factors related to a child’s vocabulary development. The 2012 longitudinal study showed that toddlers ages 12-24 months benefit from many exposures to words in order to gain the vocabulary. Children from 2-3 years old benefit from hearing a variety of words, showing us that quality over quantity matters at this age. Preschoolers benefit from back-and-forth conversations about the past or upcoming future events and explaining things (like answering those “why” questions).

So now you know what is expected of your child’s expressive vocabulary, but how can you support them? One strategy that I love recommending to my clients is to use verbal routines because depending on your child’s interests, it is easy to implement. A verbal routine is a predictable phrase that you say or sing during a specific routine. Eventually, you pause and wait for your child to finish the phrase for you. Here is an example of a verbal routine I would encourage for a mock client: Jon is 12 months and loves pressing buttons and turning lights on/off. Every morning when he wakes up and every night before bed, either Mommy or Daddy can practice “lights on!” or “lights off!” by modeling the action and letting Jon partake in this exchange. Eventually, Jon’s mom or dad will pause after saying “lights” to elicit “on” or “off” from Jon. The wait time is key as some children benefit from those extra few seconds to process and respond. Those words used in that bedtime routine can also then be generalized to other daily routines such as getting dressed (e.g., “shoes off”) or turning the faucet “on” before washing hands. Now you can see how language and communication grow so quickly in the younger years, especially for the words learned during shared activities and common routines.

One of my passions in working as a pediatric SLP is to give parents the tools to feel educated and empowered in order to advocate for and connect with their child best. What I advise one family will be different from the coaching tips I provide to another. That may be due to cultural values, working dynamics, sibling dynamics and specific client goals. As a disclaimer, this advice should not serve in place of an individualized speech therapy consultation for your child. It is always important to reach out to a skilled SLP with your specific concerns and questions.

Johanna Stadtmauer is a pediatric speech-language pathologist working with infants through early elementary school-aged children. She has her own private practice, Ready Stadt Speech, where she travels to children’s homes, schools and daycares to provide speech, language and feeding therapy around Bergen County. If you have questions or would like to schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation, call Johanna at 201-406-9147 or email [email protected].