Make Screen Time a Language-Learning Activity

The week between Christmas and New Years our children are off from school. Keeping our kids entertained, happy, and safe, without the activities we enjoyed pre-covid, can feel nearly impossible. Screen time is inevitable and that’s ok. Screen time does not have to be a total waste. By following the pointers below, you can make screen time a fun, language-learning activity! 

• Label the nouns (people/ characters, places, and things) you see on the screen.

• Label the verbs (action words) depicted on the screen.

• Talk about what the onscreen characters are doing or what they look like. Then pause and say, “your turn.” Wait and see what your child says.

  
  

Children learn language by listening to what we say. By labeling the characters, the things, and the actions you see on screen you are giving them the language input needed to understand words. By saying, “your turn,” and waiting, you are encouraging them to talk!

Making screen time a language-learning activity is a great thing to do. However, if you are concerned about your child’s ability to understand words or their ability to talk, it is best to contact a Green Light speech-language pathologist. Green Light offers early intervention services and guarantees progress. For more information about how Green Light can serve your child, give us a call- let’s chat!

Help Your Picky Eater in 3 Steps

Picky eating can be very frustrating! It leads to meal times filled with tension, anxiety, and often tears. But, all hope is not lost. Use the three steps below to help your little become more accepting of new foods:

• Expose: Introduce your child to new foods in environments where there is NO pressure to eat (eg the grocery store, a farmer’s market, when gardening).

• Explore: Help your child get to know the foods through activities. Allow them to help with cooking, have them add toppings to different foods, allow them to dip familiar foods (eg crackers) into new dips, etc.

• Expand: Gradually make the foods more complex by adding new ingredients to accepted foods.

Here is an example of how these steps often play out: Say your child is adverse to vegetables, specifically potatoes and cauliflower. Take them to a grocery store or a farmers market. Create positive memories. Allow them to look at and touch the vegetables. Have them help you put the vegetables in the cart and wash them when you get home. At home make a sweet potato bar or mashed potatoes. Put out various toppings for your child to add. Include foods that they like and foods that they have not accepted (e.g. cheese, chocolate chips, and cauliflower). When adding the toppings your child will touch accepted AND unaccepted foods without a fight. Overtime your child’s guard will come down and they will go in for a bite of the potato or pop a cauliflower floret in their mouth.

If you have a picky eater at home and are in need of help, reach out to Green Light!

Waiting for a Speech-Language Evaluation

Waiting for your child’s speech-language evaluation can be anxiety provoking. The good news is, you can start helping your child today by modeling. Children learn speech sounds and language by listening to their caregivers talk. To help your child with speech and language development, while waiting for services to start, model speech and language by using the strategies below:

• Establish joint attention : Joint attention describes a situation in which you and your child are paying attention to the same object.

• Label the object(s) : Name the object(s) using very clear speech. If your child is having trouble saying specific sounds, draw attention to your mouth. Over articulate when producing the sounds that are difficult for your little one.

• Talk, Talk, Talk : Produce short and simple sentences throughout the day. Speak slowly and over articulate to ensure that your child can see how you are making the speech sounds. Talk about things that you can see or objects you want. For example: “I see cat.”; “I want apple.”; “I want Dada.”

The above strategies are a great start. However, they do not replace speech-language therapy provided by a qualified speech-language pathologist. While waiting for your child’s state mandated services to begin, you can also seek the help of a private speech therapist. 

Green Light sees children while they sit in line for state provided speech-language therapy. Green Light also provides supplemental therapy to children currently receiving state funded services. Contact Green Light today to see how we can help.