Is your child speaking very few words? Are they still struggling to combine two words at the age of two? If your child needs an extra boost toward speaking, reading a book may be one of the easiest and best tools to help you strengthen your child’s communication. It’s likely you do this already but how you read the book is just as important. Here are some things you should be doing when reading a book to your child. 

1. Pick a book with lots of pictures and make sure your little one can see them! Sit beside your child or turn the pages towards them. 

2. Use emotion and exaggeration in your voice. Change your voice between characters. 

3. Point to the pictures and words as you talk about them. 

4. Pause throughout reading (every 2-3 pages) to make a comment or ask your child questions about what you read. 

5. Use gestures when you read like shaking your finger when something bad happens or pretend to knock on a door in the picture. 

6. After you read, give the book to your child and have them tell you the story using the pictures. If they can only say 1-2 words about a picture, expand on what they said. 

I made a video on this subject and you can watch it here: How to treat a speech delay using books

I’ve written a book, called “30 Days To Get Your Toddler Talking.” It’s a 30 day step-by-step program for parents and caregivers to get their toddler to use more words and spend more time on task.  You can order it by clicking here: https://buy.stripe.com/cN2aGo8hQdRg9l66oq