Helping a toddler talk more

One tactic to use to get a toddler to talk more, is to place things he likes just out of his reach, until he asks for them by name. 

Maybe he was saying the word before then stopped for some reason. He will understand "milk" but will maybe just say " Ah Ah" and point to the bottle or the cup where the milk is. 
So you can show him the milk and say "milk" very clearly.  Then show him some juice too and say "juice".

But keep the milk and juice both out of his reach. Offer him the juice and say "Juice? You want juice?" then say " Milk? You want milk?" and keep them out of reach. 

Tell him "Say M...i..l..k."  until he tries to say "milk". If she says something  that is a better sound for milk than " Ah Ah ", maybe he'll say "ma" Mik" or "Ik" reward him by giving the milk. 

He may say 'oos" for juice and that is terrific, any move towards a better version of "juice" should be rewarded by being given the desired thing.

Your toddler likely can't say the words clearly yet, so you need to reward the effort of making sounds that are closer to the correct sounds. So " oo" is just fine at this stage.

Complete the pattern

Repeating an action and a word to create a pattern is very powerful way to help toddlers to talk more.  Humans have a strong inbuilt need to complete patterns and sequences. Use this to encourage your toddler to talk.

You say or sing a word pattern many times until you see your toddler is enjoying it and watching you closely and then start to leave off the last word and slowly begin to say it and your toddler will very likely try to say it with you.  

A simple example is waving and saying "Bye Bye".  Wave your hand and say 'Bye Bye'  " Bye Bye", stop and then repeat about 5 times, on the sixth time, just wave, don't say anything and see if your toddler will try to say " Bye Bye" to fill the silence.  Action rhymes and games that repeat the same sounds and actions are perfect for this.


Words fill the silence

You must smile while you are doing any of the following tips to feel the pleasure and not make it into a chore or a test.

Think of other things you can make your toddler 'ask' for.  For example, in the case of the milk and juice,  put only a little milk ( a few spoonfuls) or juice in the cup and when your child shows he wants more, say " More? " and pour a little more into the cup.

Repeat this around 5 times and then on the fifth time, don't say anything. Leave a moment of silence to see if your toddler will try to say " More" to complete the pattern. How long you wait, depends on your patience and your toddler's, but it's ok to just say it yourself after 4-5 seconds and try again later ( lots of times).

Put an apple on the table, let your toddler see you cut it into slices and say " Apple" , "Apple". Hold out a slice and say "Apple". Eat a bit of the apple yourself, saying "Apple" before you bite into it, but don't offer any to the toddler.  Eat another bit and say "Apple" . Hold a piece of apple out to your toddler and say nothing.  If he doesn't try to say " Apple" , you  say "Ah....." "Ah......pple". Then give him the piece of apple.

Repeat these activities several times a day and there is a good chance your toddler will start to talk more.

For more ideas of activities, rhymes and games to help a toddler up to age three years talk more Click Here