Choosing toys that stimulate speech and language development
Written by Veronica Montanaro, Speech & Language Pathologist
In a world packed with objects competing for our child’s attention, it is very difficult to choose a toy for a child. Toy shops are packed with such a variety of activities and toys across brands and price ranges, so we are paralysed by the huge choice available to us. In my experience, less is more when picking an appropriate toy. As Christmas approaches, the team of SLPs at TAASC and I have put some advice and recommendations together. Our aim is to make it easier to choose toys that are fun, that permit engaging moments between carer and child, and that help to improve a skill or set of skills.
Having worked as a Speech and Language Pathologist for almost twenty years means that I have accumulated quite a vast number of resources. My resource toolbox includes some simple resources that have been downloaded and printed, books and toys that have been passed on to me by friends and relatives whose children no longer use them and others that have been given to us at the development stage for us to review and give feedback on.
We are always on the lookout for new/innovative toys and games. Needless to say, any SLP will be able to guide you on their top picks for toys, though we thought of listing a few of our favourites. Here are a few tips on what to look out for when buying toys.
Less is more - we favour the quality of the resources over quantity. It is not the price that you spend on a toy, but the way in which you intend to use it.
Books
Reading quality books aloud to children provides rich opportunities for increased language exposure, language acquisition and speech development. Reading books for babies and toddlers also facilitates a bonding experience between parents and children.
Here’s a tip. Pick a story and create your own story-sack, by filling any bag with items/toys that are related to the story -these can be items that you have around the house. You can even go one step further and print out additional resources related to that same story. This really helps children to become fully immersed in the story.
Some of our favourite authors: Julia Donaldson, Rod Campbell, Eric Hill, Eric Carle, Michael Rosen, Usborne touchy-feely books, Mem Fox & Judy Horacek, Margaret Wise Brown, Brown Bear. Do look out for the range of books and adaptions in Maltese by local author Clare Azzopardi.
Puzzles
These are another great way to stimulate speech and language development. It also helps children work on their fine motor skills.
Here’s a tip. You can use puzzles to build vocabulary by talking about the objects in the puzzle, you can talk about their size, shape, colour, function and also use it to teach prepositions.
FlashCards
You can never have enough flashcards. There are so many available on the market, you just need to be sure that the image is clear, especially if you plan to use these with younger children. You will find some cards that target Everyday Objects, Action Words, Opposites, and others. You can find these in both English and in Maltese.
Here’s a tip. You can make this activity fun by creating a post-box just by cutting a slit through a shoebox. You might want to be sure that the box is large enough to fit in all of those flashcards as children might get frustrated if they don’t manage to slot them in. Post the cards that you’ve just used as a little reward that also helps keep the place tidy. You can label picture flashcards with the name of the object to stimulate the child’s language.
Maltese Resources
HEADU, with their most popular range in “Leħħiet tal-Emozzjonijiet u l-Azzjonijiet, Immiss L-abċ, Leħħiet L-alfabett Tattili u fonetiku, Laboratorju tal-Kitba, Nikteb u Naqra, Il-Gisem Tagħna’. It is also worth looking at what is done locally - Some of our other local favourites include: Joan Libreri’s resources and PaintingwithatwistMG
Bubbles
Simple and such fun. So many skills can be learnt from this simple and fun activity.
Here’s a tip. Playing with bubbles can promote the development of eye contact, turn-taking, proximal pointing. It is also helpful in teaching sounds like ‘p’, and it also helps to position the tongue correctly for the production /k/, /g/ and /ng/ sounds. http://mommyspeechtherapy.com/?p=38
Play Dough: Activities with playdough are loaded with vocabulary opportunities.
Here’s a tip. You can work on requests, such as “more”, “stop” and highlight verbs such as roll, cut, squeeze, push, smash, open, close, and take out. You can also model descriptive words for size, shape, quantity, and colour. Through this activity, you can also work on imitation skills, turn-taking and sharing. It is really easy to make your own Play Dough or if you wish to purchase a gift for a child you can also go local by looking into Happy Play Dough,.
Mr Potato Head
Mr Potato Head is a winner with children.
Here’s a tip. You can use Mr Potato range to address a variety of receptive and expressive language goals, such as prepositions, following directions, requesting, and more.
Large world Toys
These are based on objects from the world around us. The toys are typically large in size. Some examples of these are dolls, toy animals or fruit items, farm sets.
Fruit/Vegetables/cooking utensils: These are so versatile.
Here’s a tip. You can teach the children the names of the fruit and vegetables while working on their symbolic and functional play.
Farm, Jungle and Zoo Animals: This is another winner for children.
Here’s a tip. There’s so much that can be done with farm animals such as symbolic play, sorting of animals according to size, and matching of the same animals.
Small world Toys
These refer to toys that are smaller in size and more suitable for older kids. Some of these include Playmobil or Lego® sets. Other toys that fall within this category also include some smaller-sized dolls, tea-set, BBQ Sets, toolsets, doctor’s kits or cooking utensils.
Here’s a tip. Just watch you don’t accidentally step on one!
Language Games
There are a number of language games that we like to use. Some of these help children to develop their narrative skills. Some games that we enjoy using are any sequencing games, Guess Who?
Here’s a tip. Allow your child to take the lead and select the board game themselves. Using games like Guess who? and the popular HedBanz encourages the use of descriptive language and asking questions.
This is not a complete list. There are plenty of toys out there that can make learning a huge amount of fun. It does, however, suggest a thought process that might help when picking a toy - we’re looking at a skill that is accessible to the child and that can be improved while enjoying their Christmas gift. If this has been useful to you and you think we should write in more depth about a particular toy or activity, let us know and we’ll be happy to share our experience.
Our SLP team has shared their individual experience of toys they find useful during their professional practice:
Michelle Mifsud says “My go tos with younger ones remain Mr Potato Head and Feely Buckets. With older children, I love Guess Who? and many other board games”
Martina Zarb says “I love wooden toys for the young ones especially the Mellisa and Doug ones, you can never go wrong with food cutting sets and inset puzzles are also personal favourites”
Martina Asciak says “I like a combination of close ended and open ended toys, so an inset puzzle / shape sorter to teach vocabulary and to increase attention span and finish a task but also farm animals or kitchen toys to see their creativity as some kids surprise you with the vocabulary they would know”
Corinne Bonnici says “I also love using Mr Potato Head and inset puzzles when working on vocabulary. For articulation I also love the pop up game (pop up pirate) as a reinforcer”
Ruth Scerri Says “My personal favourites when working on vocabulary are also insert puzzles, toy animals/fruit/vegetables, Mr. Potato Head and flashcards!”
Lucia Buhagiar says “I just love wooden toys, especially the fruits and shop stuff like Martina said. Then obviously I can't forget all the movement based toys like a parachute and ribbons or a simple sensory ball for prevervals and reinforcers”
This is not a sponsored post
Ms Veronica Montanaro, Speech & Language Pathologist
Ms Veronica Montanaro is an established Speech and Language Pathologist. She has been working in the field for over 16 years. Veronica, forms part management and is one of the Partners at TAASC, she is also a founding Partner at Move - The Sports and Exercise Medicine Centre. Veronica is a visiting assistant lecturer at the University of Malta & has started her PhD journey with the University of Leeds. Veronica is a certified training in the Hanen: It Takes Two to Talk & has run several certified Elklan courses for parents.
Veronica is also trained to administer: the SOS Feeding Approach, ADOS-2; Hanen: It Takes Two to Talk; Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS); Nuffield: Dyspraxia, Communication Mats, PODD, and; Lis 'n' Tell: Inclusive Story-Telling. She is also an Elklan Certified Tutor and ADOS-2 Trainer in modules 3 & 4.