There are so many great toys out there that can be used to encourage your little one to talk! I had a client just last week that loved a toy I brought to a session so much, she jumped on amazon and ordered it.
This blog is for all of the parents that are curious what toys a speech pathologist might buy for their own little one!
There are a few things I look for when recommending toys…
I prefer toys that don’t make a lot of noise so the child has the opportunity to use their own language while playing. Sometimes that can mean not putting in the batteries or switching the sound off while playing with the toy.
I look for toys that allow for some repetitive action.
I love toys that can be used in multiple ways and encourage pretend play like cars, play food and baby dolls.
When I am playing with a toy, I am modeling language for the child. Modeling is when you demonstrate the words the child can be using to play with that toy! I’ll provide some words and phrases you can model with each of the toys I recommend.
Toy #1: Color Fun Fish Bowl
The Color Fun Fish Bowl is a fish bowl and lots of different colored fish. It is perfect for modeling words like “put in”, “push”, “more”, and “it’s stuck”. This toy is great because the child will put in each fish and you can model language every time!
The Fish Bowl is also a good way to practice colors and following directions! You can start by modeling the colors as the fish go in the fish bowl and eventually name a color for your child to find (e.g., “let’s put in the red fish!”).
Toy #2: Pet Vet Toy
This toy includes four colored doors, keys, and vet items (e.g., shot, thermometer, etc.). It is great for modeling words like “open”, “close”, and “help”. If your child is ready for longer phrases, this can look like “let’s open”, “blue key”, and “close door”.
Children love playing with the dog and cat that are included and I will often hide different animals behind the doors too. This allows them to practice labeling different animals and can be a fun way to surprise them and keep the toy novel and exciting.
Toy #3: Bop and Drop Ball Toy
The Bop and Drop Ball Toy comes with four balls, a ramp and a hammer . It's perfect for modeling words like “push”, “down” and “wow”. It can even help your child learn to match colors!
Children have so much fun pushing or hitting the balls with the hammer and watching them go down the ramps. The best time to model and encourage language is when they are laughing and having FUN!!!
Toy #4: Mr. Potato Head
Mr. Potato Head is can be a fun and silly way to learn to identify and label body parts! The child can put in each piece and even find the body parts on their own body (e.g., “Where are your eyes?, etc.). You can model phrases like “put in”, “one ear, two ears” and “take out”.
As your child’s language skills develop, you can use Mr. Potato Head to practice more complex directions (e.g., “Put the eyes under his nose.” “Let’s put his ear next to his mouth.”). This can help you target prepositional phrases too!
My last toy recommendation is something most parents already have around the house…BUBBLES! Bubbles are so fun, allow your child to get up, move around and create lots of fun opportunities for language.
You can model words like “ready set go”, “pop”, “more”, and “bye bye”.
It’s important to remember that any toy can be used to model language and promote communication! It’s all about being creative and having fun!!
If you are concerned about your child's speech and language development, please reach out for a FREE phone consultation!
AUTHOR: JESSIE KENSEY, M.S., CCC-SLP
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