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:
- Albanian
- Arabic
- Bengali
- Chinese
- Czech
- French
- Gujarati
- Nepalese
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Punjabi
- Romanian
- Slovak
- Somali
- Spanish
- Turkish
- Ukrainian
- Urdu
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.
