You can help build your child’s vocabulary (the words they use and understand) by using different kinds of words, including:

• specific labels—“rose” instead of “flower”
• actions—painting, running
• feelings—frustrated, surprised
• describing words—soft, hot
• location words—under, beside
• question words—who, where

Building vocabulary

Try the tips below to draw attention to new words and help your child build their vocabulary.

Speak slowly, clearly, and emphasize new words

Slow down your words when you talk to your child, and pronounce words carefully. If a word is new for your child, emphasize it to help them remember it. For example, “This dog is brown, and that dog is beige.”

Describe what you are doing

Talk about what you’re doing as you’re doing it. When your child hears words combined with actions, it makes the new words easier to learn. For example, “I’m mixing the cookie dough. The cookie dough is very sticky. Let’s put the cookies in the oven. The oven is very hot. I’ll be careful not to touch it.”

Talk about what your child is doing

Talking about what your child is doing will help your child learn words that describe activities or things that interest them. For example, you could say, “That’s a nice red truck. It’s driving really fast. It’s going up the ramp and around the corner.”

Repeat new words throughout the day

Children need to hear words many times before they start using them. For example:

• “Look, the wheels on the truck roll.”
• “Roll the ball to Daddy.”
• “I’m going to roll the cookie dough.”
• “Let’s roll a snowball.”

Use short, simple sentences

When you introduce a new word, use short sentences, such as, “Let’s buy pie.”

As you teach your child what a new word means, you can use longer sentences—"Pie is a dessert made with fruit and crust.”

Take your child out

Take your child on outings like the library, grocery store, and playground. This is a great way to help your child learn new words.

Read and use stories

Reading books and telling stories to your child is a great way to help your child hear new words.

Link new words to what they know

Help your child understand how a new word relates to what they know. For example, “The dinosaur is very big. It’s huge! Remember the huge dinosaurs we saw in Drumheller? We also saw dinosaurs in the movie The Good Dinosaur.”

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.​​