Children need many skills to learn to use new words and build their vocabular (all the words they know and use). There are many ways to help your child think about words that will make it easier for them to understand, remember, and use new words.

Describing words

Describing words are words we use to help create pictures of things in our minds. They include words that describe size, shape, texture, colour, and function (what a thing does).

Your child can use describing words to help understand and remember what they hear or read. Try these activities with your child:

• Ask your child to talk about their new pet or toy to a friend or relative. Encourage your child to use a lot of describing words, for example, “My new cat is so tiny he could fit in my shoe. He’s as soft as a pillow. He has a long, striped tail and white whiskers.”
• Play guessing games like “I Spy” and “20 Questions.” These games teach children to think about details and use describing words.

Word categories

Putting words in categories helps your child organize and store words. When things are organized, you can find what you want quickly and easily. A child who’s good at putting things into categories can quickly and easily find and use words.Try this activity with your child:

• Ask your child to help you put away groceries and sort the laundry or recycle bin. Talk about why things belong in certain places and not in others, like dark and light clothes, frozen goods, canned items, and paper, plastic, and cans.

How words are connected

The different ways words are connected or related is called word associations. Like categories, word associations help people organize and store words.

The more word associations a child makes, the better they will remember and use new words. Try this activity with your child:

• When you’re cooking with your child, ask them to think about items and ingredients that go together (like hot dogs and buns, cereal and milk). When you’re talking about the days of the week, associate each day with the activities and events that happen on that day—for example, Tuesday is soccer, Thursday is swimming.

How things are different or the same

Sorting things by how they are different or the same is another way we organize words. Try these activities with your child:

• Play the game “one of these things is not like the others” with your child. Use common items from around the house, such as toys, fruit and vegetables, shoes and boots).
• Ask your child to group things around the house like shirts in one pile and pants in another. Talk about what’s the same and different between each group.

Where to get help

To learn how speech-language pathologists and audiologists can help with speech, language, and hearing concerns, contact your child’s healthcare provider or visit Pediatric Rehabilitation.​