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Being a parent can feel hectic and overwhelming at times, but taking just ten minutes to play with your child one-to-one reminds us why it鈥檚 all worth it.
Your child is learning from you from the day they are born. Even if they can鈥檛 fully understand you, they are learning about speech and communication from your words, actions, and how you respond to them.
Chatting to your baby, toddler, and preschooler throughout the day is really great for their language development, as hearing words helps them learn words.
We've put together 15 of our favourite activities that you can do with your young children to boost their early language skills in under 10 minutes. Enjoy!
1. Sing during a feed (0+ months)
Feeds are a great time for early bonding with your baby and can be brilliant for their early language learning too.
Singing during feeds can help soothe your baby and is an early chance for them to hear words.
2. What鈥檚 in the bag? (0-5 years)
"What's in the bag?" is a fun game that you can play from the comfort of your own home. All you need is a pillowcase and a few random items, such as a spoon, bowl or piece of fruit.
Fill your pillowcase with items and build suspense before you pull each item out. Make sure to name the item when it is revealed to your child.
Your little one will love the anticipation of this activity and will be soaking up new words and objects along the way!
As your child gets older, you can make it a challenge by asking your child to put the objects in order. Sorting objects into a row - from big to small or light to heavy - is a really great way to develop your child's communication and reasoning skills.
3. Babble with Baby (0-12 months)
Copying your baby's babbling and cooing helps them learn the rhythm of conversation.
This helps them understand the way a conversation works and develops their communication, conversation and listening skills.
4. Enjoy silly time (3-24 months)
Simple, fun games with your baby are a brilliant way to bond and relax. Tickle, make funny sounds and sing nursery rhymes together.
Silly time can be whatever you want it to be.
5. Point and name game (9-12 months)
This activity is a fun way for your baby to learn new words and develop their communication skills.
Encourage your baby to point at different items, or let them guide your finger and see what interests them. Name the object they are looking at. Name the different parts of the item, talk about its colour and how it feels.
6. Copying little one (6-12 months)
Copying your little one's sounds and actions is a great way of letting them know that you are listening to them and you're ready to communicate with them.
By copying them, they get used to the back and forth of conversation. This is a great way to develop their communication and language skills, as well as give you two some well-deserved bonding time!
7. Playing with teddy (0-12 months)
Toys like teddies are great props you can use to talk to your baby.
You can talk about different features of the teddy, like what it feels like and what it can do. This is great for your child鈥檚 sensory development.
8. Chat during a nappy change (0-24 months)
Chatting during a nappy change is a great way to have face-to-face time with your baby, and it can be done multiple times a day.
Sure, nappy changes are sometimes a dirty job but they can also be magical moments of one-to-one time with your child.
For more tips on bonding during a nappy change, visit our article on how to make nappy changes more fun.
9. Let鈥檚 boogie! (10-12 months)
Have a boogie with your baby! Dancing with your baby is a great way to bond together and develop their rhythm and listening skills at the same time.
Dancing with your baby is great for bonding together as well as helping develop their rhythm and listening skills. Your baby will love dancing with you! Choose your baby's favourite tune and give it a go.
10. Spend time face to face (0-12 months)
Getting face to face with your baby is a good way to develop their listening skills. It's also great for bonding!
Doing this for a few minutes every day can really help develop your baby鈥檚 communication and language skills. It also is a great way of strengthening your bond with your little one!
11. Messy, sensory fun (12 - 18 months)
Messy play helps toddlers to explore their senses, getting their hands stuck into different textures.
It's also a great chance to teach them some different describing words like 'slippy' and 'wobbly', as well as action words like 'splash'.
Grab some dry pasta, paper and glue and come up with your own messy play!
12. Clapping games (12-24 months)
Clapping along to rhymes provides an opportunity for children to listen out for rhythms.
Listening for rhythm helps children to pay attention to language. Speeding up and slowing down can also help with your little one's gross motor skills.
13. Be a little helper (18+ months)
Getting your child involved with simple jobs around the house gives you the chance to talk and interact with them.
Teach your child how to clean up using a dustpan and a brush, and keep talking while you're doing the jobs together.
This can help your little one learn new words and develops their gross motor skills.
14. Cooking together with your child (2+ years)
Cooking together is an easy and simple activity to do with your little one. Chatting while cooking together will let your child hear new words that they might not use every day.
Not only is cooking together a great way to encourage more adventurous eating, but it is also a fun language learning opportunity that can help with everything from counting to descriptive language.
Why not try out our quick and simple child-friendly breakfasts that you can make together.
15. Talking about the past (3+ years)
Talking with your little one about the past and what they have done recently is an easy way to build your child's communication and memory skills.
At the end of the day ask them, 鈥渨hat did we have for lunch?鈥 or 鈥渨hat did we do this morning?鈥. This can really help their little minds start to build sentence structures and practise new grammar.
The benefits of one-one-one bonding
- Learn life skills
- Develop speech and language skills
- Deepen your bond
- Can boost your mood
- Stimulates a baby鈥檚 brain development
Taking 10 minutes out of your hectic day to complete one of these activities can really help your baby develop their skills and gives you a chance to bond with them.
