I offer ways to "mix up" language teaching to help get a child out of a single-word rut.

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great holiday. This episode talks about one of my favorite types of books- those with busy backgrounds that can help children use more complex vocabulary as they read! I talk about one brand of books in particular, but there are lots of books out there with complex backgrounds. You and your child can spend a long time together noticing the different characters in the book, talking about what they are doing, and solving problems you see in the books.

Wimmelbook Publishing – We open seemingly endless worlds

Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go: Scarry, Richard: 8601420760561: Amazon.com: Books

This is a topic that I teased out from an earlier episode, and something I bring up with parents when their child is tantruming because they've been asked to use a word and do not want to. "Why do you want me to use a word, when pointing and grunting has worked pretty well for me so far?".

I'm passing on the newest research about language development in infants! How many books per day do you think you need to read to your child to help them develop their expressive and receptive language skills?

bit.ly/daily-book

This is a short one! I cover a recent research study that looks at whether children's cognitive skills are affected by playing video games.

https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/10.1027/1864-1105/a000364

Ah, Time Out. It's supposed to be a great technique for helping kids understand rules without having to resort to more strict forms of punishment- but how do we do it? How long should it be, how to we make it helpful, and how do we keep those kids in their spot? I combed the internet for the experts on this technique, ways to carry them out, and what to do if the techniques don't seem to work.

How to Do an Effective Time-Out | Psychology Today6 Successful Time-Out Tactics (parents.com)

What to do when time-outs don't work (ages 3 to 4) | BabyCenter (This is a great resource if you've tried the techniques and they just don't seem to work)

I'm no behavior expert, but I've seen kids and parents who struggle with hitting and biting behaviors throughout my years as an in-home speech therapist. I did a lot of research to find out the main reasons why children hit and bite, and what the experts suggest you do- as well as one big thing a parent or caregiver should NOT do- in helping reduce or eliminate these behaviors.

Toddler Biting: How To Stop a Toddler From Biting – Cleveland ClinicUnderstanding and Responding to Children Who Bite | NAEYC

Anger, Irritability and Aggression in Kids > Fact Sheets > Yale Medicine

Toddler aggression: When to worry and how to stop your toddler from hitting | BabyCenter

When children seem to "lash out" or have more tantrums than expected, I typically try to look at the rules that are being set and if there are differences in how parents and caregivers are implementing and reinforcing the rules in the home. Looking at how rules and boundaries are being communicated and follow through in goals occurs in a child's different environments can sometimes explain why there is confusion in a young child.

Why Does Consistency Matter in Parenting? (verywellfamily.com)

Why Consistent Parenting Is So Important, and So Hard | Psychology Today

I recently completed the most basic PROMPT training to learn a touch-based system to help children access speech sounds more easily and across words. I explain reasons why this might be helpful to use and also touch on another system that has been used as well to help with speech sounds (DTTC).

What Is the PROMPT Method? (therapyworks.com)

Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC) – Child Apraxia Treatment

Everything old is new again! Back in the 70s/80s, there was a debate about which was the best way to teach reading to young children. Is it better to teach sight words, or is it better to teach decoding skills through phonics drills? That debate has been picked up anew in the last decade. I go over the types of learning each entail, and what is the "best way" to help kids learn better reading skills.

Whole Word vs Phonics - Reading Wars! - Understanding the Differences between these 2 Approaches - Learning Reading HubPhonics vs. Whole Language | Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D. (institute4learning.com)