Talking about daily activities and tasks is a great way to support your child's language development. Hearing the same words regularly will support their understanding, and help them learn to use them.
Why is talking while you do your daily activities important?
Talking to very young children while you carry out your day-to-day household tasks is a great habit to get into. You can also involved children with these activities too. Talking to them will keep them busy and interested in what you're doing. You will not only be supporting their vocabulary, but showing them how to have conversations, and how to use body language and facial expressions to communicate too. It's never too early to start.
The skills toddlers and children will need to use to help with household tasks will also be supporting their muscle development, balance and coordination. These will all help them with trickier tasks, such as drawing, writing and fastening clothes.
We have some great examples of ways you and your child can have a great chat while you complete your daily activities.
Watch our video: Preparing a snack
Watch the child in the video below helping to prepare her own snack, and tidy away afterwards as she chats with Mum and Dad:
There are many household tasks, indoors and out, that little ones will be interested in as you chat to them. Talk about what you're doing, and what they're doing. They will enjoy the challenge of helping you as they master new skills, such as squeezing a clothes peg to make it open, or coordinating the dustpan and brush to work together! There's lots of ways you can make these tasks even more fun, for example, by making up your own song as you work together.
Everyday tasks to help children learn new words and skills:
- Talk about what you're doing as you prepare a meal or snack. Choose a small task that is safe for your child to help with, it might be counting spoons and bowls, cutting something up, or doing some mixing. You might find they are happier to try new foods if they've helped to prepare them.
- Play a tidying game. See who can pick up the most items, sort toys into their boxes, or sing a song as you tidy. Try adapting Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush to keep everyone on task.
- Organising and sorting the washing together provides lots to chat about. Play peepo as you go, make a mini-washing line so they can peg up clothes to dry, or see who can match the most pairs of socks!
- When you're little even cleaning can be fun. Let them use a wet cloth to help wipe down surfaces and dust, or help to sweep up with a dustpan and brush. You'll be introducing lots of descriptive words as you give them instructions.
- Do the washing up together. Children of all ages enjoy playing with water, so they will thoroughly enjoy washing up plastic plates and cups or pots and pans.
- Get outdoors to find more tasks you can complete together. If you have a garden or outside space, there will be more tasks they can help with outside, such as sweeping, washing their outdoor toys, and watering plants. As the seasons change the outdoors provides endless things to talk about.
