How to Use Toys to Encourage Communication

The following are four play-based tips for how you can use toys at home to help encourage your child’s communication:

Strategy #1: Organize your child’s toys by category of what the item is in a ziplock bag or plastic container (example: cars with cars, puzzles with puzzles, food with food).

Why?: It makes it easier for your child to play. It also provides an opportunity for your child to learn how to separate and categorize.

Tip: Consider labeling the box or bag with words and/or a picture of what it is. Many toys come in boxes that have pictures of the item that can easily be cut out and taped to a container.

Strategy #2: Keep some of your childʼs favorite toys visible but out of reach (on a high shelf or in a container that is hard to open).

Why?: It gives your child a reason to communicate so that language happens more frequently.

Strategy #3: When playing with toys with your child, try to have duplicates (example: two phones, two race cars, two puppets).

Why?: It allows you to model language for your child and results in more immediate imitation. It also promotes interactive play.

Tip: If you don’t have duplicates of toys, try introducing turn-taking instead to help promote both interaction and imitation (example: Daddy’s turn and then (child’s name)ʼs turn to talk on the phone).

Strategy #4: Think less about finding (or buying) a new toy/activity and more about adding props (sometimes even just things you have around the house) to expand a play theme or activity.

Why?: This can help enrich your childʼs language and play within an activity that is already in your child’s repertoire. Adding too many new toys sometimes results in less language and play because the child has to work harder to figure out how to put it all together.

Example A: If your child loves the birthday cake theme, consider adding props such as a pretend present, balloons, party blowers and puppets to expand the language your child uses within this activity.  Example B: If your child is in love with cars, make an elaborate ramp out of a long, thin cardboard box to encourage passing the car back and forth or talking about how the car is moving.