Bath time is a great time to model and use different language stimulation techniques.  Why not use this routine that happens on a daily basis to help your child understand and use language? 

1. Bath time is a perfect time to look in the mirror  and point to all the body parts.  Before you start the bath, point to all the different body parts on your child and label them.

2. Sing different nursery rhymes that talk about the body parts.  The classic, catchy "Head, shoulders, knees & Toes" is perfect to label body parts.  You can also sing "If you are happy and you know it" to teach actions such as clapping your hands, stomping your feet, and waving your arms.

3. Show and Tell.  Talk about how the water feels, the loud sound of the water gushing out of the faucet or the splashing sounds that are made in the water.

4. If you have bath toys, add it to the bath and model quacking like a duck and swimming like a fish. 

If you are short on time, but want to work on speech and language with your child, try incorporating language techniques during meals and snacks.  Here are some effective and fun ways to work on speech and language:

1. Offer two choices of food or drink items and allow your child to pick the items.  Your child can point to the item, reach toward the preferred item or produce a sound or word that shows his preference.

2. Describe your food by talking about the texture, the smell and the taste.  This is a great opportunity to use rich language.  We are used to labeling the utensils and the specific food, but don’t stop there.  Use descriptive words such as cold, hot, crunchy, soft, small, big to describe the food.  Name actions that your child is doing such as chew, drink, eat, help, pour, taste, bite, eat. 

3. Provide opportunities for your child to request for the food. Give your child a small portion of the food.  Then, wait to see if your child will request for more.  If your child does not use any sounds or words, say the word  “more” and then give your child some more food.  You can also add the sign language for the word “more.”  If your child uses one word, make him use two words.  If your child talks in phrases, model asking questions or requesting for the item using a complete sentence. 

4. Name the different utensils and what you do with it.  Describe what you do with a cup.  This creates a connection between the object and what you do with it, which improves and expands vocabulary. 

5. Use meal and snack times to model different sign language.  Here are some examples:

   1. “more” to request for more food.

   2. “All done” to indicate that you are done eating

   3. “Drink” to request for water

   4. “Open” to open the buckle if your child is sitting in a high chair

6. Eat with your child and minimize distractions.  Focus on the interaction with your child.  Talk about what you or your child are doing such as “Yum, I like my banana”  or “You took a big bite.”  Provide pause time to allow your child to respond. 

Washing hands is a great opportunity to promote language development in children. Here are some ways to use language strategies during hand washing:

1. Give verbal instructions: As you wash your hands, give verbal instructions to your child on what to do. You can use simple language to describe each step of the hand washing process, such as "wet your hands," "apply soap," "scrub your hands," "rinse with water," and "dry your hands."

2. Sing a song: Singing a song while washing hands can make the process more fun and engaging for children. You can sing a simple song like "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" or "The ABC Song," or make up your own hand washing song.

3. Use descriptive language: While washing hands, use descriptive language to describe the water temperature, soap texture, and other sensory experiences. For example, you can say "The water is warm," "The soap feels slippery," and "The bubbles tickle."

4. Ask open-ended questions: Use hand washing as an opportunity to ask open-ended questions to encourage your child to use language. For example, you can ask, "What other things can we do to stay healthy?" or "What do you like about washing your hands?"

5. Practice sequencing: You can use hand washing to practice sequencing skills by asking your child to describe the steps in order. You can ask questions like, "What do we do first?" and "What do we do after we apply soap?"

By using these language strategies during handwashing, you can help your child develop their language skills in a fun and engaging way while also promoting healthy hygiene habits.

Whether you have a school age child or a toddler,  you can use your laundry time to model language enhancing stimulation techniques.

Here are some tips for your little ones who are still learning to talk (typically infants, toddlers and preschoolers):

1. Model describing words like dirty, clean, wet clothes, dry clothes, washer, dryer, loud noise, put in, take out.  

Ex: show a shirt with stains and point to the stains and say “dirty.”  

2. Sort the clothes into different categories: big shirts vs small shirts, all the red clothes vs all the black clothes. 

3. Talk to your child about where you put the clothes on your body.

Ex: You put pants on your legs.  

Ex: you put socks on your feet.

Here are some tips for you children who are starting to talk about what they see or experience (typically preschoolers to school age).

1. Go over the steps to do laundry.  Model the steps and talk about each step.  Then encourage your child to retell the steps and  use sequencing terms such as first, next, last to organize the steps.

Sample sequence to wash the clothes: 

First,  I will sort the clothes. 

Next, I will put the laundry detergent in the washer.  

Then, I will put the dirty clothes in the washer.  

Last,  I will push the button to start the washer.  

2 Talk about similarities and differences between the different clothes. 

Easy: Talk about pants and shirts.  How are they similar?  How are they different?

2. 1. Similar: You can wear a pant and shirt.

   2. Different: You put on pants through your legs and you put on shirts through your arms. 

Difficult: Talk about pants and shorts. How are they similar and how are they different?

1. Similar: You wear both of them.  You wear both of them through your legs.

2. Different: Pants are usually longer than shorts.  You usually wear shorts when it is hot outside.