Expensive electronic toys and new iPhone apps are not what your baby needs this Christmas, says a local speech language pathologist.
“You as the parent or caregiver, are the best source of play for your child,” says Linda McFetridge, a speech language pathologist with Toucan Communicate in St. Albert.
Over the past 20 years, McFetridge has worked primarily with school-aged children. She says engaging with your child early on can prevent speech language delays by the time they get to kindergarten.
“In terms of the strategies that we use with language delayed children, we advise parents and caregivers to use them with everyone,” she explains.
According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, speech sounds disorders include problems with articulation (making sounds) and phonological processes (sound patterns). A disorder occurs when these problems continue past a certain age in children.
Speech sound disorders can result from developmental disorders, genetic syndromes, hearing loss, illness and neurological disorders.
McFetridge says environmental neglect and lack of stimulation also plays a big part.
“The more that we can help parents be comfortable, relaxed and not feel they have to have the latest apps or put their baby in front of a screen, the better.”
The Canadian Pediatric Society recommends zero screen time for kids two years of age and under and limiting screen time to one or two hours for older children.
The limited research that has been done on infant programming such as Baby Einstein has shown that plopping infants in front of the T.V. reduces verbal interaction between parent and child, which may lead to speech and language delay.
McFetridge recommends talking, playing, singing and reading to your baby as developing brains need interaction with people, not machines.
“You are the child’s plaything,” she says, explaining it is the parent’s job to be the animator – for instance, making a book life-like and meaningful for the baby.
“The more things (the child) can do in an exploratory fun manner, the better.”
McFetridge also advises caregivers to follow the baby’s lead, he or she will play with what they want to play with – whether that is crinkling a piece of cellophane, or stacking rings.
“In a play type setting, we will maximize the opportunity for the baby’s development if we go where they’re going,” she explains.
Being responsive to the baby’s needs will also impact social emotional growth and their ability to self-regulate their behaviour later in life.
“You reinforce that reason why they are making these sounds and gestures. Once they buy into this, the sky is the limit,” adds McFetridge.
McFetridge says that “no batteries” should be the rule of thumb for gift giving for young children this holiday season.
To encourage your baby's learning and exploring, you can:
• Follow her lead. Your baby looks at and reaches for things she's interested in. Use words to describe what she's looking at or doing.<br />• Remember there is no right or wrong way to play. As long as an activity is safe, be interested in what your baby is interested in. Be ready to help if needed, but see what she does first. Babies learn through play and they love to do the same thing over and over. Discovering something for the first time or for the 100th time fascinates your child.<br />• Watch for cues. Babies have short attention spans and too much play can be tiring and frustrating. When your baby looks away or no longer responds to an activity, it's time to do something else.<br />• Share books and sing songs. The rhythm and repetition of songs, stories and nursery rhymes encourage language and learning.<br />(from Alberta Health Services)
