Smart ways to increase your child's vocabulary

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There are countless ways you can weave vocabulary development into the daily routine with your child. Here are some...

Explain away

Explain to your child that some words have different meanings and could have different spellings too.

Just like the word "ring" — it could apply to jewellery, the sound of the doorbell or a boxing ring. On the other hand, "wring" is also pronounced the same way but has a different meaning and spelling.

Share stories

Talk to your child about how your day went.

Discuss your routine and tell him about the activities that you did, the people you met and any funny things that happened.

By doing this, you will also encourage him to talk about his day.

Make new experiences

Whenever you and your child go out of the house, encourage him to be more observant and to ask a lot of questions.

Remember not to be annoyed about answering even the silliest ones. His questions would progress to more intellectual ones in no time.

Expound and extend

Whenever your child tells you something, expound and extend the words that he used.

For example, if he says, "I like cheese," tell him, "I love cheese, too, because it is delicious." Expand by stating the different types of cheeses as well.

Change it up

When talking to your child, replace simple words with its synonym. Instead of always saying, "clean the room," say, "arrange, organize, or tidy up the room" instead.

Explain to him that each word has corresponding synonyms and give lots of examples. Let him try looking for word substitutes on his own too.

Provide references

If your child is old enough, give him a pocket dictionary and show him how to use it.

Each time he hears a new word, he can just look it up in his dictionary.

Rhyme time

Rhymes are not only fun but they could enhance your child’s vocabulary and speaking skills as well.

Don’t forget to ask him about the spelling of the words too. Once he is ready, introduce tongue twisters as well.

Let him talk

No matter how silly his stories are, allow your child to talk openly in order to express himself.

Don’t forget to ask lots of open-ended questions including those that begin with "what," "why" or "how."

Skip the baby talk

As soon as your child utters his first word, avoid talking to him like a baby and converse like grown-ups instead.

Of course, you must use simple words but always in complete sentences. Instead of speaking in 2 to 3 words, your child will most likely be speaking in complete sentences in no time.

Read, read, read

Constantly read stories to your child. Expose him to new and longer words.

Choose books that are interesting and slightly above his age level. If he constantly hears new words, he would ask about them and what they mean.

Encourage him to use the new words he has learned. Let him read the books himself too.

You will be surprised at how his reading skills have improved just by listening to you read aloud to him!