This book explains why early communication with infants and toddlers is so important and how to effectively talk to these young learners in a wide variety of circumstances.
Talk to Them Early and Often is a practical guide for early childhood educators, caregivers, and parents who want to harness the power of language during the most important years of brain developmentbirth to age 3. Early childhood educator and parent coach Cara Tyrrell explains how the way adults speak to young children not only shapes their vocabulary, but also informs their developing identity, confidence, and emotional resilience. Readers will learn how the quality and intention of an adults words affects the young, pre-verbal brain, laying the foundation for strong linguistic neural pathways, quality relationships, and independent success in school and life. Part I explores the science of receptive and expressive language development, while Part II delivers 10 linguistic guidelines and 25 intentional language strategies to embed into everyday conversation.
This practical resource includes research-backed insights, practical scripts, and vivid classroom and home-based vignettes to help adults transform everyday interactions into opportunities for growth.
Book Features:
Provides 10 linguistic guidelines and 25 practical strategies for educators and parents to use in daily interactions. Includes a downloadable resource guide stocked with printable resources and video examples to support immediate application across home and classroom settings. Shares Teacher-to-Parent Toddler Talk Tips to bridge communication strategies from school to home. Offers helpful callout sections that compare what we tend to say vs. what we should sayand why it works. Makes the science of language development actionable with concrete next steps and developmental points to remember at the end of each chapter. Explores how adults words, tone, and body language shape early brain development during the Invisible Learning Years.
Contents
Foreword Barb Wilder-Smith xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
PART I: THE SCIENCE OF INFANT AND TODDLER LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
1. The Nurturing Role of Teachers 7
How to Nurture Healthy Relationships 7
Teachers as Language Models 13
Next Steps for Teachers, Parents, and Caregivers 16
2. The Power of 7% 17
The Words-to-Meaning Ratio 18
Five Ways Healthy Receptive Language Builds a Childs Brain 20
Next Steps for Teachers, Parents, and Caregivers 22
3. The Five Components of Comprehensive, Meaning-Based Language 23
The 5 Language Links for Meaning-Based Communication 23
Next Steps for Teachers, Parents, and Caregivers 30
4. Receptive and Expressive Language Development Birth-to-3 31
Early Brain Development in Infants and Toddlersthe Invisible Learning Years
31
Early Language Development in Infants and Toddlers 34
Receptive and Expressive LanguageBirth to 3 Months 37
Expressive Language in Infants 4 to 12 Months Old 39
Expressive Language in Toddlers 12 to 36 Months Old 41
Receptive Language in Toddlers, Infants, and Newborns 41
Next Steps for Teachers, Parents, and Caregivers 45
5. The COVID-19 Effect: A New Generation of Learners 46
Who Is the COVID Generation? 46
Socializing as a Prerequisite for Comprehensive Language Development 47
Post COVID-19 Outcomes 51
Next Steps for Teachers, Parents, and CaregiversDiscussion Questions 52
6. When Can They Hear You? The Three States of Being 53
Kids in the Red StateSurvival 53
Kids in the Blue StateEmotional 55
Kids in the Green StateExecutive 59
Next Steps for Teachers, Parents, and Caregivers 61
7. The Four Steps to Active Listening 62
How Infants and Toddlers Process Your Words 62
Best Practice Conversation 65
Next Steps for Teachers, Parents, and Caregivers 67
8. The Syntax of Sentences 68
Layering Language IntentionallyThe Five Sentence Types 70
Syntax to Avoid 83
Next Steps for Teachers, Parents, and Caregivers 88
PART II: INTENTIONAL LANGUAGE IN ACTION
9. Ten Linguistic Guidelines for Using Language Intentionally 91
1. I Connect Before I Expect 91
2. I Mean What I Say, and I Say What I Mean 92
3. I Create Side-by-Side Silence 92
4. I Speak in Short, Complete Sentences of Six Words or Less 93
5. I Talk With My Hands 94
6. I Lead With Yes 95
7. I Turn Are You Questions Into You Are Statements 96
8. I Do Not Force Apologies 96
9. I Harness the Magic of Music, Movement, and Melody 99
10. I Do a Linguistic Form Check, Then B.E.N.D. 101
10. Using Intentional Language to Connect, Compromise, and Collaborate With
Infants/Toddlers 102
The Trigger-Trap Reaction Cycle 102
Language That Anchors Attention 104
Developmental Points to Remember 108
11. Using Intentional Language to Develop Infant/Toddlers Emotional
Intelligence and Regulation 110
The Power of Pronouns: I, You, and We 111
How to Answer Yes/No Questions 114
Im Here and Ill Wait 115
Developmental Points to Remember 117
12. Using Intentional Language to Develop Infant/Toddlers Identity and
Sense of Self 119
Language That Empowers 119
Developmental Points to Remember 126
13. Using Intentional Language to Develop Infant/Toddlers Cognitive
Problem-Solving Skills 127
Choosing Words That Inspire 127
Developmental Points to Remember 132
14. Using Intentional Language to Empower Infants/Toddlers Early
Choice-Making and Ownership of Consequences 133
Choosing Words That Encourage Choice-Making 133
The 5-to-1 & Done Choice-Making Framework 137
Developmental Points to Remember 140
Concluding Thoughts 141
References 143
Appendix A: How to Respond to Child-Initiated Conversation 148
Appendix B: How to Engage Children Through Adult-Initiated Conversation 151
Index 153
About the Author 159
Cara Tyrrell is a teacher trainer, parent educator, founder of Core4Parenting, and host of the "Transforming the Toddler Years" podcast.
