Our Top 5 Favourite Toys to Encourage Speech & Language Skills
Parents will often ask us, “what are the best toys” to work on speech and language skills with their child. There is no ‘best’ toy for encouraging communication, but rather ways that we can set up opportunities to communicate. These are some of our favourite, low-cost toys to encourage speech and communication from your littles!
No matter which toys you choose, the most important thing you can do is to model language for your child and provide opportunities for them to practise. We call these communication temptations, where you set up the environment in a way to encourage your child to communicate. These temptations capitalize on your child’s interests and give them the opportunity to think, act or react. If you want to learn more about communication temptations, check out our resource section!
What are communication temptations?
Communication temptations are when you, as the parent, change a situation to encourage your child to communicate. These temptations work because they give your child the opportunity to think, act, or react.
Here Are Our Top 5 Favourite Toys:
5. Stacking Cups
Stacking cups are a versatile toy that can be used in so many ways that the opportunities for language development are endless. Try being silly with them and using them as a hat, or use them as cups to feed animals and stuffies. Try stacking them really tall and then knocking the tower down, or playing with them in the bath and watching the water flow through.
Communication temptation
Build a tall tower with your child and let them knock it down. Once it’s fallen, wait for your child to begin stacking again as an indicator they enjoyed the activity and want to keep going!
Language opportunities:
Big, small
Tall, short
Colours
Eat, drink
4. Wind Up Toys
These nostalgic toys are often unexpected fun! Often, young children cannot turn them on their own, so they need to communicate to keep the activity going!
Communication temptation:
Wait for the toy to stop moving and pause for your child to:
Pick up the toy and hand it to you to indicate they want more and then activate the toy!
Ask for “more” or “wind up” and then activate the toy
Language opportunities:
Hop
Jump
Wind up
Turn on
3. Play Food
Pretend food is another great activity that can provide lots of language opportunities. Try feeding getting some farm animals and feeding them various food items or pretend to cook in a play kitchen.
Communication temptation
Set up a few animals to feed and 4-6 pretend food items. Model feeding a food item to the animal using funny sound effects and pause for your child to:
Select a food from the array and begin feeding it to the animal
Say which food item you should feed the animal next
Language opportunities:
Names of various foods
Hot, cold
Mmmm… that’s so tasty!
Yummy, delicious
2. Bubbles
This underrated toy has so many ways to encourage speech and language development and is almost always a hit with kids! Bubbles are great for many reasons, but two of our favourite things about them: most young children cannot ‘blow’ bubbles themselves (they need our help!) AND the bubbles have a natural end (when all the bubbles pop).
Language opportunities:
Open, close
Pop
More
Big, small
Blow bubbles
High, low
Up, down
On, off
Communication Temptation:
Place the lid back on the bubbles after you blow them and pause for your child to:
Bring them to you to indicate they want more for children who aren’t yet speaking! They can communicate nonverbally!
Ask for “more bubbles”
1. You!
Our absolute favourite way to encourage speech and language skills doesn’t come in a box; it’s YOU! Engaging with your toddler without any toys….
Here’s how!
Make silly faces and see if your child will imitate you (raise your eyebrows, play peek-a-boo, scrunch up your nose, make a “fish” face, etc.!)
Communication Temptations:
Play hammock! Place a large blanket on the floor and encourage your child to lay in the middle of the blanket. With one or two adults, lift the corners of the blanket. Swing your child genty back and forth.
Let the blanket slowly down. Your child will almost certainly ask for “more!”
Use words like up/down, side to side, swaying, swinging, hammock
Say, “popcorn!” and lightly bounce your child up and down in the blanket, then stop and wait. See if they ask for more!
Sing songs! Some of our favourite songs are “Itsy bitsy spider,” “row row row your boat,” and “it’s a smooth road to London town.”
Have your toddler sit on your lap looking at your face. Use an animated voice and lots of fun expressions.
Use your hands to act out the songs! Rock back and forth to “row” your boat, or have your child bump up and down on your knees while singing “it’s a bumpy road!” and enjoy the giggles!
