Teaching our little ones to communicate and converse is all about practice. Talking and listening to your little ones about anything and everything is one of the many ways to help them develop their conversation skills as a new parent. Asking them questions, letting them ask you questions, and being open and honest in general helps foster a safe space to practice having conversations and guide their social emotional development. Here are some more ways to develop conversation skills with your preschooler!
Hello, How Are You?
At Playgarden Prep, we have songs that introduce conversation starters. Our Hello song and Good Morning/Afternoon songs are sung every day to help little ones practice greeting their friends and teachers, which helps their social emotional development. Here is what our Good Morning song looks like:
Good morning, good morning, good morning to you!
Good morning, good morning, and how do you do?
I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine, thank you!
I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine, thank you!
Asking Questions
Questions and answers are great conversation starters for little ones. Odds are they have a lot of questions they are just waiting to bring up. If you do need to find a place to start as a new parent, talk about something that you and your little one experienced together. Let’s say you took a trip to the zoo together; ask them what their favorite animal was and why, and if they don’t on their own, encourage them to ask you what your favorite animal was and why. This teaches your little one the importance of taking turns — sharing and listening in conversations is important in their social emotional development.
Games to Get Chatting
Preschoolers love games and learning through play, so take advantage of those games they love and practice conversations through games! Little ones love to mimic and roleplay, so when you are playing something like “ice cream truck” with your little one, practice the conversation exchange: what flavor would you like? That will be this much money, etc. Maybe your little one will feel comfortable ordering ice cream the next time the truck comes around — what a proud new parent you’ll be!
As with any skill, practice makes progress. The more conversations are started and communication is practiced, the easier it will be to communicate as a new parent with your growing child. Creating a supportive environment where our little ones can come back to talk about and work through big feelings, or any conversation they want to have, is integral for their social emotional development!
