Helping your child develop speech and language skills doesn’t require expensive toys or formal lessons. It starts with you—your attention, your words, and your interactions. Whether your child is an infant or a toddler, here are ten easy, evidence-informed strategies you can use every day.

1. Engage and Pay Attention.
From birth through the teen years, children thrive on connection. Look at your child, respond to their sounds, and make eye contact. Ignoring even joyful sounds like cooing teaches a child that their attempts to communicate don’t matter. Your attention is powerful—use it intentionally.

2. Make Faces and Funny Sounds.
Imitate your baby’s expressions or sounds, and encourage them to imitate yours. These copycat games activate the brain’s mirror neurons, which help children learn speech patterns and emotions through facial movement and vocal play.

3. Use the Whole Body.
Play that involves movement—like bouncing your child on your knees or rolling a ball back and forth—stimulates the brain and supports sensory regulation. These activities provide deep physical input and naturally invite communication.

4. Create a Consistent Routine.
Children thrive on repetition and predictability. Daily routines help organize their world and their developing brains. Repeating the same songs, words, and activities during transitions (like bedtime or meals) helps build language comprehension and expression.

5. Limit Screen Time.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for children under age 2, other than video chatting. If that’s not always realistic, aim for music, simple books, or open-ended play first. These options provide richer opportunities for interaction and learning.

6. Fewer Toys = More Focus.
Too many toys can be overstimulating. Offering just a few options encourages your child to engage more deeply, explore creatively, and develop imagination and sustained attention.

7. Let Play Unfold Naturally.
There’s no “right” way to play. Try not to correct how your child uses a toy. Discovery and experimentation are how children learn. You may be surprised at their creativity when left to explore freely.

8. Read! Read! Read!
Start reading early—even during pregnancy. Babies recognize voices from the womb, and reading fosters bonding, vocabulary development, and early literacy skills. Repetition is a good thing; reading the same book over and over builds memory, language patterns, and comfort.

9. Being Around Other People.
Children learn from watching and interacting with others. Whether it’s playdates, family gatherings, or outings to the park, peer interaction teaches communication, problem-solving, and social rules—even if they pick up a few unwanted behaviors along the way (that’s where parenting guidance comes in!).

10. Narrate your world.
Talk as you go. Describe what you’re doing, seeing, and feeling throughout the day: “Now I’m pouring the milk. Look, it’s white and cold!” This constant language input helps children attach words to experiences and builds understanding—even long before they start talking back.

What Is Joint Attention—and Why Does It Matter for Speech and Language?

Joint attention is one of the earliest and most important building blocks of communication. It refers to the shared focus between two people—usually a child and a caregiver—on the same object, person, or event. It’s more than just looking at the same thing—it’s about knowing you’re sharing that moment together.

There are two main types of joint attention:

1. Responding to Joint Attention (RJA): This happens when a child follows someone else’s lead—for example, looking where a parent is pointing or turning to see what someone else is looking at.

2. Initiating Joint Attention (IJA): This happens when a child initiates the shared experience—for example, pointing to a plane in the sky to show their parent, not just to ask for help, but to share interest.

Levels of Joint Attention:

• Basic Joint Attention (Shared Gaze): Simply looking at the same object or event.

• Triadic Joint Attention (Understanding Intentions): Understanding that someone is intentionally directing your attention to something—or that you are intentionally directing someone else’s attention.

• Sustained Joint Attention: Maintaining attention on the same object or event for a longer period.

• Social Referencing: Using someone else’s emotional expression to understand and interpret a situation.

• Interpersonal Understanding: Recognizing that others have different perspectives, emotions, and intentions than your own.

Many babies and toddlers naturally develop both types of joint attention between 9 and 15 months. However, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often show delays or differences in this area. For example, they may use gestures to request things (like giving a parent a toy to open or pointing to a snack)—this is called a protoimperative behavior. But they often miss the shared social connection—like pointing to something just to share interest—which is a protodeclarative behavior.

Why Does Joint Attention Matter for Speech and Language Development?

• It lays the groundwork for social skills and communication

***Check out the picture below for ways to encourage joint attention with your child***