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Language happens all day, every day!

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For a toddler to dress independently, lots of smaller skills need to line up. Don't feel the pressure to have your toddler self-dressing at a specific age.

The most important thing is to follow your child's lead , talk through the process as you go and focus on one piece of clothing at a time. In the video above, we focus on shoes and introduce concepts of left and right .

There are loads of opportunities to introduce language into this part of your routine . The more words your toddler hears, the bigger their understanding of the process will be.

Take time to name the clothes that your child is wearing and talk about the body parts they go on. Let them choose which clothes or shoes they want to wear and describe them.

If your child says, "these shoes", you can expand on their words by saying, "you want the blue shoes". This is a great opportunity to introduce new vocabulary and help your child hear more words.

If your child is struggling, try not to jump in and do it for them straight away. Encourage and reassure them and give them time to try it for themselves.

Children learn in different ways, and you might be able to help them pick up this new skill using one of these methods:

Physically help your child: Put your hands over theirs and help them to get dressed.

Show your child: Put your clothes on at the same time as your child and show them what to do.

Tell your child: Talk your child through the steps one at a time.

All children develop skills at different rates, but at 2 years, your child probably won't be able to dress themselves fully. To see how you can expand this activity when your child is a year older, check out our getting ready for the day activity for 3-4 years .

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Getting ready to leave the house is the perfect opportunity to help your child learn key life skills. Encouraging toddlers to dress themselves boosts their self-perception, strengthens gross and fine motor control and can even boost language skills.

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Start by thinking about the opportunities your child has to communicate. Can you create more opportunities during the day?

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Spend time playing and tuning in to your child. Follow their lead and notice their interests and all the ways they communicate with you. Children will learn more when we follow their ideas.

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Say what you see! Saying the word linked to what your child is doing or looking at will help them to learn words in real life situations. Try not to ask too many questions such as 'what's that?' as it can make the child feel under pressure.

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Our top tip for helping your child to use short phrases. Add a word to what they say!

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Speech and Language UK have an ages and stages guide to give you an idea of what to expect when.

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Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives

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Sometimes sound as if they are stammering or stuttering. They are usually trying to share their ideas before their language skills are ready. This is perfectly normal at this age, just show you are listening and give them plenty of time. It's not helpful to draw attention to their 'stammering' by saying things like 'take your time'.

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If you are worried about your child's communication skills, a good place to start is to speak with your Health Visitor or your child's nursery/preschool.

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Find information and advice from the local NHS Speech and Language Therapy service here

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Children's Speech and Language Therapy for Luton and Bedford

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Expert advice and support for children with speech and language difficulties in Luton and Bedfordshire

More info & Accessibility further details The written information (not documents) on these web pages is now available in different languages as text or audio. (for some languages) using our Recite function. These pages can also be downloaded and printed off in English or in your preferred language.

What is Speech & Language Therapy?

Our NHS Children's Speech and Language Therapy service provides specialist support to children with speech, language and communication needs across Bedfordshire and Luton. We are a team of enthusiastic and committed therapists, support practitioners and administrators.

To find out more information about who we are and what we do, visit our page.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More

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Home - Children's Speech and Language Therapy for Luton and Bedford

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More info & Accessibility further details The written information (not documents) on these web pages is now available in different languages as text or audio. (for some languages) using our Recite function. These pages can also be downloaded and printed off in English or in your preferred language.

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Attention and Listening is a foundation skills in communication development. Try these activities to support your child in this area.

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Find further advice and support on the Flying Start website

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If you are worried about your child's speech and language development, look at this Progress Checker from Speech and Language UK

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Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives

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Our progress checkers will provide short questions you can answer to see how your baby or child is getting on with their talking and understanding of words.

It's based on what we know about how talking and understanding of words develops in babies and children. It's not the same as a standardised measure a specialist would carry out but it should give you an idea of how your baby or child is developing and whether you need some support or advice to help you and them.

Choose the right age and answer the questions, at the end, we will let you know how your child is doing and what help is available if you need it.

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Our progress checkers will provide short questions you can answer to see how your baby or child is getting on with their talking and understanding of words. It's based on what we know about how talking and understanding of words develops in babies and children.

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The local NHS Speech and Language Therapy Facebook pages has top tips and advice for families in weekly topics

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Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

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A fun game to help your child learn new words

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Playing what's in the bag when you're out and about

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A great game to help your child learn the names of objects and what they're used for.

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Pretend play is a great chance to discover new words

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1. Hide and Seek with teddy
Try hiding a teddy around the house during your picnic and looking for it together.

Hide and seek games are great fun and can help children follow simple instructions. Try giving your child clues about where the teddy is hidden, or play "colder or warmer".

Find out more about playing playing hide and seek with young children .
2. Teddy says
This twist on the classic game Simon says is great for younger children and the perfect game to liven up a picnic.

If your child is struggling to pick up the game just try giving all the instructions as "Teddy says", so they have to follow the action.
3. Dress up teddy
Using clothes from around your house your child can dress teddy up in a lovely outfit for the picnic.

This game is a great opportunity to chat about different body parts and ask them lots of open questions.

Chat to them about the colour of the clothes and what the weather will be like when they wear them.

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Make your day extra fun for little ones by holding a Teddy Bears' Picnic! Here are some fun ideas for things you can do even if you can't get outside. A fun activity for children aged 2-3 years to help with their development and language learning.

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Use a trip to the park to talk about action words. This will help extend your child's vocabulary and get them ready for longer phrases.

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A fun trip to the park is a great chance for your child to learn action words as they have fun on the swings, slides and roundabouts.

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Click here to look at Luton's Local Offer

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Artwork and design by Timeon Jarrett, a former student at Woodlands Special School, currently studying Art & Design at Barnfield College

Support available for children, young people with special education needs or a disability aged 0-25 years

The Luton Local Offer helps you find information about local services, support and events for children and young people aged 0 to 25 years who have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).

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Social Media and the Local Offer

Right now we're posting, sharing and tweeting lots of information to help support SEND families and professionals. If you don't follow us on either or both of the social media channels, here's what you'll need.

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What to do if you think your child has special educational needs and / or a disability

Find services by area of specific need

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Luton's Local Offer SEND information hub

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Skip to main content Home Luton's Local Offer SEND information hub Artwork and design by Timeon Jarrett, a former student at Woodlands Special School, currently studying Art & Design at Barnfield College The Luton Local Offer helps you find information about local services, support and events for children and young people aged 0 to 25 years who have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).

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Sharing stories with your child is great for language development.