|
|
How to Support Your Child's Language Development
From Three to Four Years of Age
What can you expect your child to do?
Your child is rapidly developing more sophisticated and complex language skills at this age. Here are some of the things you can expect your child to be doing:
Your child should be speaking in sentences of 3-4 words and be able to tell you about things she or he did that day.
Your child should be able to identify colors and to describe the use of objects such as "fork" or "car."
Your child should be able to speak smoothly and fluently, and even people outside the family should be able to understand him or her.
Your child will now understand simple questions using who, what and where, such as "What do you do when you are hungry?" or "Where is your coat?"
Your child will recognize things that are silly or unusual, such as pictures of animals driving cars, and will be developing the ability to tell you which things in a group do not belong.
Your child enjoys language, such as rhyming poems.
What can you do to encourage language development?
Continue to expand your child's vocabulary and sentence length by reading and singing with him or her, talking about what you are doing together and where you are going.
Read a book with a simple plot and talk about the story line with your child. You can ask your child to tell you the story you have just read or act it out with toys (dolls, cars stuffed animals) or special clothes.
Encourage your child to draw pictures and tell you all about them.
Play with your child by making up stories and acting them out in pretend situations, using toys or things around the house (pans and spoons for cooking, etc.) for role play.
Ask your child questions but encourage him or her to ask you questions, too. Sometimes give the wrong answer or pretend not to know the answer so that he or she has to help you.
Play category games where you not only sort like items together but also ask which ones do not belong.
When should you worry?
At this age, when your child may be playing more often and more interactively with children around his or her own age, you are likely to be comparing your child to peers or to siblings when they were that age. Remember that children can vary in their rates of development, so that this child may be faster or slower than a brother or sister was at this age. However, if you are concerned that your child is not able to communicate at about the same level as his or her peers, or if your child is showing frustration with an inability to communicate, consult a professional.
For a checklist of activities you can use to determine whether your child is developing on schedule, see Additional Resources.
How to Support Your Child's Language Development
During the First Year of Life
From One to Two Years of Age
From Two to Three Years of Age
» From Three to Four Years of Age
From Four to Five Years of Age
Bilingual Language Development
Additional Resources
|
