How to help your toddler talk?

Many times parents are told not to worry if their child isn't talking, but what if your 18 month old is pointing because he/she wants a cookie and isn't moving his lips or tongue?   What if he/she is the "quiet" child? What if he/she isn't talking ?  What if he/she appears frustrated?  How can we help them? What are some ways parents can help their child in addition to obtaining a speech/language evaluation?

Some great toys for the toddler years are the fisher price farms,garage sets, Mr. Potato Head, shape sorters and musical toys.  I also recommend flap books/board books (ex: Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can you: Dr. Seuss, Spot books, Brown bear by Eric Carle,).  It is good to read the same book repetitively and start omitting words. This way as your child starts talking, they will say the missing word. Also if a child says one word, expand upon it. For example, if your child says car-you can say blue car. Also utilize bath and meal time to talk to your children.

If you notice limited movement with the lips, tongue and mouth,  I suggest  gently tapping the child's lips to help them to produce bilabial sounds (such as b, p, m).  Also have them touch your neck to feel the vibration of sound. At  party places, you can buy an echo mike. Children love holding this microphone and hearing their own voice. Also it is great to encourage environmental sounds, such as uh-oh, choo-choo, beep beep. This helps facilitate lip, tongue and jaw movements which are essential for speech expansion.

Please feel free to comment on your child's favorite toys or books for others parents to read about. Thanks for reading.