Communication Activities
Communicating with your child is one of the most enjoyable parts of being a parent. Over the last 2 years your child has learned by taking in the sights and sounds of daily interactions with you and the people around them. Your child will have understood speech before they learned to speak for themselves. They learn from your face and listening to your voice. As they develop they start to respond by using facial gestures and some sound.
As children get older, communication skills are crucial for reading, learning in school, socialising and making friends, and understanding and controlling emotions or feelings.
Here are some activities you can do with your child to help their communication skills;
Listening Skills
Improve listening skills by playing both slow and fast music. Songs with speed changes are great. Show your child how to move fast or slow with the music.
Fill The Word In
Tell or read a familiar story and pause often to leave out a word, asking your child to “fill it in.” For example, Little Red Riding Hood said, “Grandmother, what big ________ you have.”
Noisy Objects
Make ‘sound’ containers using plastic eggs. Fill the eggs with noisy objects like sand, beans or rice and tape the eggs shut. Have two eggs for each sound. Help your child match sounds and put them back in an egg carton together.
Nursery Rhymes
Add actions to your child’s favourite nursery rhymes. Easy action rhymes include “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush,” “Jack Be Nimble,” “This Is the Way We Wash Our Clothes,” “Ring Around the Rosy,” and “London Bridge.”
Learn New Words
Help your child learn new words to describe objects in everyday conversations. Describe the colour, size, and shape (the blue cup, the big ball). You can also describe how things move (a car goes fast, a turtle moves slowly) and how they feel (ice cream is cold, soup is hot).
Special Outings
Children at this age love outings. One special outing can be going to the library. The librarian can help you find appropriate books. Make a special time for reading (like bedtime stories).
For more information on different types of play *click here* . You can also *click here* for more activities, videos and ideas.
You can also try our communication quiz below. It has been built with East Coast Community Healthcare, Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT) team, to help support communication development.

Who Can Help?
You can contact the Healthy Child Programme by calling Just One Number on 0300 300 0123 or texting Parentline on 07520 631590. Our opening hours are 8am-6pm Monday-Friday (excluding bank holidays) and 9am-1pm on Saturdays.
If you still have concerns about your child's communication, a member of our 0-19 team is able to complete an assessment of your child and refer to other services as needed, including speech and language therapy or hearing assessment.