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Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives

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In the UK around 20% of children speak or understand more than one language. You might hear the terms 'bilingual' or 'English as an additional language' used to talk about these children.
Will my child get confused if they hear two or more languages at home?
No. Around half the world's population speak two or more languages! Lots of studies show that children can tell the difference between different languages early on. They might do something called 'code-switching' which is when they replace a word in one language with a word from another language - so they use two languages in one sentence. It's nothing to worry about and is a normal part of bilingualism - even bilingual adults do it!
Will my child do worse at school if they hear two or more languages at home?
No. In fact, many bilingual children do better academically than children who hear and speak one language. A strong foundation in one language helps children to learn other languages, including English, better - this is helps them to do well at school.
Will my child have speech and language challenges if they hear two or more languages at home?
No. Bilingualism does not cause or contribute to speech and language challenges. However, some bilingual children will have speech and language challenges, just as children who speak only one language do. The difference is that a bilingual child with speech and language challenges will have difficulties in BOTH or ALL of their languages - not just in English.
Are some languages more useful than others?
No. Every language is important. Of course, developing English is important for children going to English-speaking schools. But research shows that when a child knows their home language, this helps their academic achievement, self-confidence, and family relationships. Later in life, it can improve their job opportunities. Importantly, it helps your child understand their culture and identity better.
What can I do to help?

Talk to your child in the language that feels the most comfortable to you. If your child learns one language well from you, it will be easier for them to learn English well too.

The more your child hears your home languages, the more they will learn your languages. Get other family members involved too.

Share your feelings, stories, and songs in your languages. Be proud of your languages and share them like a gift!

Further information:

Read our blog post clearing up some myths and presenting the facts around bilingualism.

We also have this blog post about the importance of valuing all languages.
Tiny Happy People - Bilingualism Learn more than one language PDF

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Children learning more than one language

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Children learning more than one language - Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives

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Download our Sing with me booklet and enjoy singing along to eight well-known nursery rhymes with your baby and toddler.

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Make the most of everyday opportunities to chat with your baby or toddler, especially while you are out and about. It will help them learn new words and develop their communication skills.

Use our walk and talk trail to chat to your baby or child. Here you'll discover tips, activities and prompts to have exciting new conversations. Download the trail here. Scroll down for translated versions of the trail.

Watch the video below to see a dad talking with his daughter about what they see and hear on their journey to the park. He mimics the sounds of what he sees and hears, and encourages his daughter to join in too.

How will the trail help my baby or toddler to start talking?

Both the trail and activities on this page will support you to introduce new words to your baby or child. This will help them begin talking and communicating. If you child is already very chatty, the trail will help them develop their vocabulary.

The first five years of a child's life have a big impact. The development that happens helps improve their future learning, happiness and wellbeing. You can encourage this development by finding as many opportunities as you can to talk and listen to them, and introduce new things.

The walk and talk trail will help you get started.

What if English isn't my first language?

It's important to talk to your baby or child in your home language. Translated copies of the walk and talk trail can be downloaded below:

We like reading together. Are there any books based on chatting and exploring outside?

Sharing a book together is a great way to introduce your children to new words and develop their imagination. There's lots of great books about the outdoors you can read together, to inspire you to spend outside. Check out our booklist for suggestions. If you don't have these books at home, visit your local library to borrow a copy and see what other outdoor stories you can find.

Remember, you don't always need to read the words in books. Looking at and talking about picture books is a great way to encourage your child to enjoy stories.

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Talking to your child when you're out and about

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Walking near your home can be a good chance to get your child speaking about the things they see and hear around them.

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Talking and listening to your baby helps build their communication skills from the very start. Discover our new Little Moments Together Cards perfect for helping you chat to your 0 to 2 year old throughout the day.

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Chat, play, read activity booklets

Our Chat, play, read activity booklets are filled with fun and simple activities. Each one will support your child to learn new words and develop their language and communication skills.

You can complete many of the activities anywhere, anytime! You know your child best, so choose the activity ideas that feel right for you and your child. Change them or create your own.

How will the booklets help my baby or toddler?

The activities in this booklet will support you to introduce new words and simple turn taking games. Turn taking is an important skill which will help your child when holding conversations and playing with others.

The first five years of a child's life have a big impact. The development that happens helps improve their future learning, happiness and wellbeing. You can encourage this development by completing the activities in this booklet, anywhere, anytime!

What if English isn't my first language?

It's important to talk to your baby or child in your home language. Below you'll find translated copies of the booklet in an additional 18 languages.

Scroll further down to find voice recordings of the booklets in English and the 18 additional languages. You may want to listen as you read the booklets, or use them separately.

Translated booklets:
Portuguese
Recordings:

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Our chat, play, read activity booklets are filled with fun and simple activities. Each one will support your child to learn new words and develop their language and communication skills.

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How do babies and toddlers learn words from repetition?

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How do babies and toddlers learn words from repetition?

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How do babies and toddlers learn words from repetition?

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Repeating words allows your child to form an understanding and even attempt to imitate it. Toddlers need to hear the same sounds over and over and link them to patterns they see in the objects being named. Each repetition helps your child solidify the noun, verb, or adjective in their mind.

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Toddlers learn words through face to face interactions with adults, free from distractions. And even if they're able to say lots of words, they'll no doubt understand lots more!

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Tools for Talking 18-24 months: Expanding on toddlers' words

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Tools for Talking 18-24 months: Expanding on toddlers' words

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When your toddler is around 18 months old, you might start noticing them using more words and putting some of these words together to make short sentences.
At this stage, you might be wondering what you can do as a parent to help your child's language continue to grow.

What's the best way to respond to them when they put two words together? Should you respond in full sentences? Or keep your language simple at their level?

We asked the experts to explain their top tip for helping toddlers develop their language. Watch the video below to find out what they said.

Video Transcript Video Transcript

Toddlers are saying more words and some are beginning to put words together to make short sentences.

They need you to keep giving them those tools for talking to help expand their language.

Listen to their words or gestures they use to communicate with you and expand on what they talk about.

If they say a word, add to it and turn it into a short sentence.

And ask those simple 'what, where and why' questions too.

Remember, by expanding their words, you're helping them start to build sentences, so keep doing it!

What is expansion in language learning?

Expansion is a really easy tool to help develop your child's language skills.

When your child says a word or phrase, listen carefully and expand on what they talk about.

If they say a word, try to add to it and turn it into a short sentence. Repeat what they said with one extra detail or a more complete structure.

If you child says, "Dog!" You can say, "Yes, big dog!"

If your child says, "Coo moo" You can say, "Cow goes moo!"

This is a great technique to use when your toddler is really engaged, perhaps during an activity together or at lunchtime. You don't need to use this tool all the time when you're talking to your toddler.

It's important for your child to hear you speak in your every day voice too.

Top tips for expanding toddler's language

When you're using the expansion technique, try and keep in mind the language level that your child is at:

If your child isn't vocalising words yet, try and emphasise one word at a time in your daily routine: "Milk", "Eat", "Clothes"

If they're confident saying one word at a time, you can repeat a 2-word phrase back to them: "Eating lunch", "More milk", "Green clothes"

If they're talking in simple phrases, you can start narrating in fuller sentences: "That's a blue car", "We're hanging up the washing"

Your child is listening and learning all the time. When you repeat and expand their language at the right level, their brain is working out how different words connect and link together.

Don't expect your child to repeat you, they won't be at this stage straight away. But their brain is always making new connections, and this is a great way to help them pick up the new skill.

Activities to help expand your toddler's language

The activities below are the perfect opportunity to try out language expansion with your toddler. They're fun and easy to do, and lots of them can become a part of your everyday routine:

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Easy tips for helping your 18-24 month old with their language learning. As toddlers start to string a few words together, help them go that step further by expanding on the things they say.

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Tools for Talking 2-3 years: Responding to toddlers with longer sentences

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Tools for Talking 2-3 years: Responding to toddlers with longer sentences

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Build toddlers’ understanding of sentence structure by repeating their sentences back to them with corrections, allowing them to hear how sentences are formed correctly.

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A collection of activities and things to do with children aged 4-5 years old. Your child may be able to take turns in conversations, use more complicated language, and enjoy playing with friends.

Activities for 4-5 year olds: Playtime games

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Activities for 4-5 year olds - BBC Tiny Happy People

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A collection of fun learning activities and things to do with children 4-5 years. Our collection of fun and creative games for preschoolers will help develop their language and communication skills. Help them learn and have loads of fun while you do.

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It's the little moments together that matter the most when you're encouraging your baby towards their first sound, hum, giggle or word - Best Start in Life website

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Feeding time

Your baby loves hearing your voice and watching your face, so try talking and singing to them while feeding.

Using exaggerated, sing-song ups and downs really helps them to follow the movements of your mouth and supports their early speech development.

Enjoy singing together

Babies love to hear the same songs and rhymes over and over again. They need lots of repetition to learn words.

Don't worry about repeating the same rhymes, you'll be helping your baby to learn!

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Discover how little moments, games, and rhymes help your baby on their journey to talking, from first giggles to their first words.

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First words and little sentences - 1 to 2 years

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First words and little sentences - 1 to 2 years

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When you pay attention to what they’re curious about, it opens up so many chances to chat together - Best Start in Life website

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First words and little sentences: 1 to 2 years

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Everyday moments like cooking and playing help your child learn to talk, build conversations, and develop skills for learning, friendships, and well-being.

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Chatting and building sentences: 2 - 3 years

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Chatting and building sentences: 2 - 3 years

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Follow your child's lead when playing- and talk about what they're doing and what they're playing with. It's a great way to boost their language skills! - Best start in Life website

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Chatting and building sentences: 2 to 3 years

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Boost your child’s confidence and language skills with pretend play, counting games, and chatting about their activities to spark creativity and vocabulary!

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Ways to support your child's language development

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Communicating if your baby is has hearing loss or deaf. 

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Communicating if your baby is has hearing loss or deaf. 

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If your baby is diagnosed as deaf or as having hearing loss, talking to them is still very important.

By moving their mouth or limbs, cooing, babbling or smiling, your baby is communicating with you and looking for a response. Deafness doesn't prevent this type of communication. The important thing is to try to make sure that your baby understands what you say.

If your baby has a hearing aid or cochlear implant

Some babies may understand what you say if they use hearing aids or a cochlear implant. They may be able to use these to learn to talk just like a hearing child. You can make this easier for them by turning off the TV and radio and putting their aids on as much as possible.

If your baby has a hearing aid and still can't hear all speaking sounds, always use it anyway. It can take a few months to get used to listening through a hearing aid.

Your baby may not hear all the sounds of speech through their hearing aid or you might not yet know what they can hear. You might not know yet how successful the implant will be, or they might be waiting for an implant. To solve these problems, you could try using Cued Speech.

What is Cued Speech?

Cued Speech uses eight hand shapes in four positions near the mouth at the same time as you speak. It makes lip-reading much clearer. With Cued Speech, deaf children can 'see' sound-based English. They can use this to help them speak, read and write.

How can I help my child learn to communicate?

All forms of communicating are important, including eye contact, body language, gurgles, kicks and facial expressions like smiling, so always try to respond to them.

Talking to your child can fit easily into your daily routine. Talk about the things you see when you're on the bus or walking to the shops, or doing day-to-day things like a nappy change, bath time or getting dressed.

Talking tips

Talk (and cue, if you decide to use Cued Speech) to your deaf child when you're playing together.

Have fun with nursery rhymes and songs, especially those with actions.

Get your child's attention when you want to talk, and make sure that they can see you clearly.

Listen carefully and give your child time to communicate. Take turns.

Always respond in some way when she says something.

Limit TV time. Try to watch TV together so you can talk about what happens.

Keep background noise (for example radios and music) to a minimum.

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Communicating if your baby is deaf or has hearing loss

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Talking to your baby is important if your baby is deaf. We share how to build a bond and support their development.

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Communicating with your visually impaired baby.

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Communicating with your visually impaired baby.

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Communicating with your visually impaired baby

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These useful tips will help you communicate and bond with your child if they’re visually impaired or blind.

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National Literacy Trust information

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Talking to young children about blindness

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Help your child to understand more about being blind.

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Information to help you support your toddlers speech and language.

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How to help when toddlers say words wrong

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How do you correct your toddler when they say words wrong? Dr Saloni Krishnan helps a family explore the effect of recasting, which means repeating a toddler’s words with mistakes corrected. Find out more in our video.

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Fun and Easy Speech and Language Strategies to try at Home 

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Fun and Easy Speech and Language Strategies to try at Home 

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Ways to be a super communicator with your child

When you get down to your child's level they will be able to see what you are looking at and hear your sentences more easily, and you will be sure that you are talking about what interests them the most.

When you follow your child's lead, you can talk about and describe what they're interested in. This can help them learn words more quickly.

When you describe what your child is doing or looking at, you are using the words they need to talk about what interests them. This can help them link words they hear to their meanings.

When you pause and wait for your child to show you what they are interested in, it gives them time to start communicating or respond to your actions or words. Your child may point, look at an object, or say a word. The words you say will be all about what has interested them, making it easier for them to learn.

When you listen, watch and respond to your child's communication, it helps keep the conversation going about something yourchild is interested in. The more turns you and your child take, the more words and sentences your child will learn.

When you copy what your child says and add a word, it helps your child know they have shared their ideas with you and helps them learn how to make their sentences longer. If your child says 'car', you can reply with 'big car', 'fast car' or 'red car'.

Questions can put pressure on a child to talk when they may not have the language to answer. To help your child, describe what is happening and talk about what you are doing as you and your child do it.

When you do ask questions try to keep them open. That means ask 'what', 'why, 'where', 'who' and 'how' questions that encourage more than just 'yes' or 'no' answers. When you ask open questions, it helps open up the conversation.

Games and words can be more engaging when you use a fun tone of voice, and this will encourage them to interact and communicate with you. The more you communicate together, the more words and sentences they can learn.

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Tips on becoming a super communicator, part of the Early Language Intervention Measure resources from Tiny Happy People.

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Stammering, also sometimes referred to as stuttering, affects speech and is relatively common in childhood. It can also can persist into adulthood.

What is stammering?

Stammering is when:

you repeat sounds or syllables - for example, saying "mu-mu-mu-mummy"

you make sounds longer - for example, "mmmmmmummy"

a word gets stuck or does not come out at all

Stammering varies in severity from person to person, and from situation to situation. Someone might have periods of stammering followed by times when they speak relatively fluently.

Find out more about how stammering can affect you.

Types of stammering

There are 2 main types of stammering:

developmental stammering - the most common type of stammering that happens in early childhood when speech and language skills are developing quickly

acquired or late-onset stammering - is relatively rare and happens in older children and adults as a result of a head injury, stroke or progressive neurological condition. It can also be caused by certain drugs, medicines, or psychological or emotional trauma

The information here focuses on developmental stammering.

What causes stammering?

It is not possible to say for sure why a child starts stammering, but it is not caused by anything the parents have done.

Developmental and inherited factors may play a part, along with small differences in how efficiently the speech areas of the brain are working.

Speech development

Speech development is a complex process that involves communication between different areas of the brain, and between the brain and the muscles responsible for breathing and speaking.

When every part of this system works well, the right words are spoken in the right order, with correct rhythm, pauses and emphasis.

A child learning to construct simple sentences needs practice to develop the different speech areas in the brain and create the "wiring" (neural pathways) needed for the different parts to work well together.

Stammering can happen if some parts of this developing system are not co-ordinated. This can cause repetitions and stoppages, particularly when the child has lots to say, is excited, or feels under pressure.

As the brain continues to develop, stammering may resolve or the brain can compensate, which is why many children stop stammering as they get older.

Sex differences and genes

Stammering is more common in boys than girls. It is unclear why this is.

Genes are also thought to have a role. Around 2 in 3 people who stammer have a family history of stammering, which suggests the genes a child inherits from their parents might make them more likely to develop a stammer.

When to get help

You should get advice if you have any concerns about your child's speech or language development.

Treatment for stammering is often successful in pre-school age children, so it's important to get advice as soon as possible.

Talk to a GP or health visitor about your concerns. If necessary, they may refer your child to a speech and language therapist (SLT) for an assessment.

In many areas, you can phone children's speech and language services directly and refer your child yourself.

Stamma (the British Stammering Association) has more information and support for people who stammer and parents of stammering children. You can call the helpline on 0808 802 0002 from Monday to Friday 10am to midday and 6pm to 8pm to find out about the services available in your area.

If you're an adult who stammers and it's having a significant impact on your social and work life, you may want to ask a GP to refer you to an SLT.

Treatments for stammering

There are different speech and language therapy approaches that can help people who stammer to speak more easily.

You'll work with a therapist to choose a suitable plan tailored to your child or you.

This may involve:

creating an environment where your child feels more relaxed and confident about talking

strategies to increase fluency and develop communication skills

working on feelings associated with stammering, such as fear and anxiety

Electronic devices to reduce stammering are also available and can help some older children and adults, but they're not usually available on the NHS.

Find out more about treating stammering.

Who's affected

Studies suggest around 1 in 12 young children go through a phase of stammering.

Around 2 in 3 children who stammer will go on to speak fluently, although it's difficult to predict when this will happen in a particular child.

It's estimated that stammering affects around 1 in 50 adults, with men being around 3 to 4 times more likely to stammer than women.

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Stammering, or stuttering, affects speech and is relatively common in childhood. It can also persist into adulthood.

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What is stammering and how can I help my child with their stammer?

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Speech & Language Therapist, Janet Cooper, talks about stammering and shares her top tips for helping your child with their stammer.

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Early Language Identification Measure Form 

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Early Language Identification Measure Form 

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Early Language Identification Measure form  - This quick and simple form helps to identify where children are in their language journey at around 2 years. Please take a few minutes to complete it.

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2 Year Language Check : Isle Of Wight Family Centres

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Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives

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Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives

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We are Speech and Language UK - we want every child to face the future with confidence. For 1.7 million children in the UK, learning to talk and understand words feel like an impossible hurdle.

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Further Information and guidance on toileting

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Tips and advice from the Speech and Language team to promote early language and communication.

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Engaging with our child will encourage them to communicate and express themselves.

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Hi I'm Charlie, your virtual assistant. I will explain how to use this online noticeboard (Padlet). 

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Hi I'm Charlie, your virtual assistant. I will explain how to use this online noticeboard (Padlet). 

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Please use the column headings to find the information you need

Then scroll down the column to see the information

Click on the links to view the information

To find other headings please scroll right

If you are using a mobile you can click on the 3 dots on this post and choose start slide show. This makes it easier to look through the information on a smaller screen.

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Check out your local Rhyme time activities

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We are currently updating our systems and kindly request that ALL families complete a new registration form for us.

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Isle of Wight Family Centre's Registration Form

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Complete and submit Isle of Wight Family Centre's Registration Form

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If you would like to attend one of our courses or workshops, please visit our website and click on 'contact us' and complete the form. A member of the team will then contact you giving you more information on the courses, the dates, times and location. 

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If you would like to attend one of our courses or workshops, please visit our website and click on 'contact us' and complete the form. A member of the team will then contact you giving you more information on the courses, the dates, times and location. 

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Welcome To Isle Of Wight Family Centres : Isle Of Wight Family Centres

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A collection of tips and advice on how to make the most of screen time with your children. How much screen time should kids have? How can kids use devices for learning?

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Screen time for kids - BBC Tiny Happy People

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A collection of tips and advice on how to make the most of screen time with your children.

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How do toddlers learn multiple languages at once?

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How do toddlers learn multiple languages at once?

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How do toddlers learn multiple languages at once?

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Does your family speak more than one language? Lots of families do. Some parents think that it will confuse their child or make learning more difficult, but they needn't be worried.

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Bilingual babies and speaking multiple languages at home

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Bilingual babies and speaking multiple languages at home

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Will hearing me speak more than one language confuse my child? Is the speech of bilingual children delayed? Tiny Happy People have got the answers and information on the benefits of bilingualism.

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Bilingual babies and speaking multiple languages at home - BBC Tiny Happy People

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Will hearing me speak more than one language confuse my child? Is the speech of bilingual children delayed? What language should I use at home? Tips for parents on introducing children to more than one language.

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There are many common disabilities that can lead to speech and language difficulties. Tiny Happy People have resources that are designed to help families of children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).

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There are many common disabilities that can lead to speech and language difficulties. Tiny Happy People have resources that are designed to help families of children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).

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There are many common disabilities that can lead to speech and language difficulties. These resources are designed to help families of children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).

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Speech and language needs and disabilities - BBC Tiny Happy People

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There are many common conditions that can lead to speech and language difficulties and delays including Down's syndrome, cerebral palsy, hearing and sight impairments, and autism. These resources are designed for families of children with SEND to help them with their speech and language learning.

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It's important to talk to your child in the language or languages you use.

A child learning more than 1 language should babble and say their first words in the same way as a child learning one language.

It is important not to confuse this slight delay with language difficulties – most children quickly catch up.

For more help on languages, have a look at the parent's questions on the National Literacy Trust website.

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We have created a series of bilingual quick tips, in 19 different languages, for parents and early years practitioners to help children develop good talking and listening skills.

If the language you need isn't listed below, we have created a blank template for each topic so that you can adapt it to the desired language. Please do send any new translations of the quick tips to talktoyourbaby@literacytrust.org.uk so that we can share them more widely with families, nurseries and schools.

If you are working with multilingual families, our Time Together booklet has been translated in to 22 different languages and is packed with fun and simple activities that support language development.

Don't forget - we have lots more free early years resources created by literacy and communication experts.

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Bilingual quick tips | National Literacy Trust

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Our bilingual quick tips cover topics including playing with your baby, sharing books with your baby and talking to your baby in your own language.

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Welcome To Isle Of Wight Family Centres : Isle Of Wight Family Centres

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Tips to promotoe speech and language

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If you have a child between 9 months and 3 years you may be interested in our Building Blocks Workshop.

You will get lots of ideas and tips to help you understand your child’s stage of development and to strengthen your relationship with your child/ren.

Building Blocks aims to support you to bring up happy and confident children over two, 2 hour Teams workshop sessions and covers:

The importance of play

Talking and communication

The art of praise and encouragement

Positive discipline and guiding challenging behaviours

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We support parents, carers and families to get reading with their children from their earliest days because sharing stories together regularly, in the…

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There are 3 sessions each lasting about an hour. The sessions take place within a small, relaxed group where you and your child can join in with fun, playful activities which encourage speech and language development. The activities involve the use of everyday objects and toys you will have available within your home so can then be repeated.

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Some courses do require booking a place through Eventbrite. Check out our website for more information 

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Some courses do require booking a place through Eventbrite. Check out our website for more information 

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Welcome To Isle Of Wight Family Centres : Isle Of Wight Family Centres

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Bookstart aims to encourage a love of books, stories and rhymes in children from as young an age as possible.

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Find out about Bookstart, the BookTrust programme that gives free books to every child in England and Wales at two key stages before school, plus free packs for children with additional needs, tips and guidance on reading together, resources and activities, and much more.

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How is the rise in screen time affecting children?

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How is the rise in screen time affecting children?

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The impact of too much screen time on children's social skills depends on what stage of development they are at. As children learn most crucial skills in their first year, this is a key time for them to get as much human interaction as possible.

"If young children have not developed social skills already there is a risk if there's less face-to-face time", says Janet. "So, what babies and young children, really, really need is lots of opportunity to see faces and be talking to somebody face to face."

And it's this physical interaction that helps build the foundations of language. "We call it serve and return, where one person speaks, and then the other replies", Janet explains. "If there's too much screen time introduced too early on, or the adults' attention is taken away by screens, the babies and young children may be missing out on some of those key interactions".

But could these interactions be mimicked through on-screen activities? Not for the youngest children, Janet tells us. "Babies can't see all the colours at birth, so actually sticking a newborn baby in front of the TV or another screen... they're getting very little from that."

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How is the rise in screen time affecting children?

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Speech and language therapist Janet Cooper discusses the effect of too much screen time on young children's development and what we can do to counteract this.

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© 2018 - 2023 STAMMA, British Stammering Association trading as STAMMA, reg. charity no. 1089967/SC038866, reg. company no. 04297778 (England & Wales)

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Learning conversations and telling stories: 3 - 5 years

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Learning conversations and telling stories: 3 - 5 years

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Chatting with them and talking about what they're doing can really help them to learn new words and how to have conversations - Best Start in Life website

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Learning conversations and telling stories: 3 to 5 years

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Help your child learn new words and build conversations by chatting about your day and talking together—they’re growing their language skills with every sentence!

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7 benefits of nursery rhymes for babies and toddlers

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7 benefits of nursery rhymes for babies and toddlers

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How many nursery rhymes do you know by heart? Chances are the lyrics of at least one is etched into your memory... probably more if you've been to a baby class recently!
Some of our favourite rhymes date as far back as the 17th century, and a lot of the lyrics are still the same as they were back then.

So why are these nursery rhymes so popular? And why should we still sing them to our children?

We chatted to Clare Wood, Professor of Psychology at Nottingham Trent University, and a Trustee of the National Literacy Trust, to get some answers.

1. They introduce kids to new words

"Nursery rhymes introduce children to new words and ideas that they might not encounter elsewhere at this stage of their development," says Clare.

Your child usually picks up language from the world around them, so singing nursery rhymes is a great way to introduce words they might not hear during an ordinary day.

"Vocabulary development not only helps children on their journey to understanding and using spoken language, but it is also the foundation for later emerging reading skills."

2. They help children recognise the sounds in words

As children approach pre-school age, they'll begin to build their understanding of the different sounds that make up words and spot similarities and differences between them.

"The rhymes and repetition of sounds in nursery rhymes help children to understand this phonological awareness ," Clare explains. "And this is an important skill for them to have before they start school."

Try singing Hickory Dickory Dock with your little one and asking them to find a word that rhymes with the number in each verse.

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7 benefits of nursery rhymes for babies and toddlers

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Why do we sing traditional nursery rhymes? Whether you're singing nursery rhymes with actions, at bedtime, with your toddler or your baby, one thing is for certain - you're helping their development in loads of ways. Find out more about the benefits of famous nursery rhymes on this page...

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During these months your baby will start to listen more carefully. They'll love it when you take the time to chat, play and read with them - Best Start in Life website

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Help your baby build confidence and communication by chatting, playing, and reading together—every moment makes a difference!