Good toy/system for speech and vocabulary development?

Question

My son is almost 2 and is not where he should be when it comes to his speech and vocabulary compared to my other kids. I want to work with him more and was looking at what is available to buy to help with this. The only thing I think I like is Hooked on Phonics Toddler Edition. But before I make the purchase.....

I was wondering if another parent may know something I dont that would help. I dont want to buy another toy that says it teaches him things but all it does it sing songs. Also any suggestions that you may have experienced would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. and please...nothing negative, we are talking about my son here. Thanks again.

Answer 1

leap frong is a good toy it helps for reading writing math and many more.

Answer 2

I am a speech language pathologist, so in my professional opinion, you do not need to buy any specific language toys and spend money to enrich  your child's language.  You yourself as the parent is the most language-enriching toy money can(not) buy! Exposing your child to language, talking to him, exposing him to vocabulary through routines thorughout the day is the most beneficial way to expand your child's vocabulary.  AT two year's old, you child should be combining words into 2 word phrases (e.g doggy tail, Daddy eat, ball big".  So to get your child up to this point, talk talk talk through each routine.  For example, giving a bath talk about what you are doing...say "wash hair" "shampoo leg" expose your child to body part vocab and tools used in the tub.  "bubbles big!" water wet!" Limit your vocab to 3-5 word sentences to really make sure your child is understanding the vocab and hearing it again and again.  Eating, walking, going to the park, reading to him/her, putting clothes on... all these activities have so much functional vocab to expose your child to... clothing, animals, foods, basic concepts : big/little, wet/dry.. are all vocab your child should be retaining at this age.  If you want to buy some toys, playing with your child will make the most difference.  Talking as you are playing..modeling language for him will really create the biggest impact on your child's language abilities. PLaying with dolls/animals , feeding the animals, dressing them, talking about verbs and acting out these actions ("bear walk!" bear jump" "Jump bear jump" have her/him imitate your action and she may imitate your speech too!  At 2, if he is not putting 2 words together at this time, he may be a late talker. But, not to worry you , have him checked by a physician and possibly refer to a speech language pathologist to screen him.  Overall, exposing your child to language and serving as a language model will be the biggest factor in your child gaining the most in his world of language.

Answer 3

Try not to compare him to your other children. There is a wide range of normal and each child is different. My daughter spoke very little and quite unclearly at 2 whereas my son spoke in clear sentences well before his 2nd birthday. My 3rd (18 months) speaks more now than #1 did at this age but less than #2. Similarly, my sister's daughter spoke very clearly very early on but her son was almost 3 before he started talking in sentences.

My suggestion would be to continue to speak to him often and ask him what various objects are as you go through your day. When you are doing dishes, for example, keep saying what each item is as you handle it. Ask him which one is the spoon, ask him to say "spoon" and reward him with lots of praise when he verbalises, even if he is way off in his pronunciation. Good luck.

Answer 4

The best system is for you to read to you child. Talk to your child. And finally as others have said don't compare you child to other children. All children develop at different rates.