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Mom & Tot Class: The Language Benefit for Infants and Young Toddlers

By: Gretchen Olson, Pediatric Speech and Language Pathologist at North Shore Pediatric Therapy

Language is essentially all about sharing; sharing ideas, thoughts, needs, etc. This sharing begins in infancy when a parent is the primary communication partner. Infants first share eye contact, but as a child grows, they will soon seek to share items of interest with their caregivers and communication partners. This is demonstrated through switching eye gaze, gestures, babbling and eventually vocal imitation.

5 Ways a Mom and Tot Class Will Benefit Your Child’s Language:

  • Mom and Tot classes provide an opportunity to share a new experience. It can be seen as a conversation piece for parents and their littlest ones to share.
  • New toys, ideas, people, and activities are introduced for young children to explore, and to share that experience with their parents.
  • Songs and rhymes are often incorporated into these types of classes, providing an opportunity for children to imitate rhythm and pitch even before they’re able to imitate individual speech sounds.
  • Since speech and language are learned largely through imitation, practice with imitating gross-motor (gestures or claps to go with songs) is also an important step to developing language.
  • Exposure, repetition, and imitation are keys to early language development.

Take advantage of opportunities to foster these keys in your daily routine, and create new opportunities by participating in a class experience. Learn more on language development in children.

Bubble Music: BabiesBubble Music: Crawlers and Bubble Music: Walkers are fun launching pads for speech.

NSPT specializes in Pediatric Occupational Therapy | Speech Therapy | Physical Therapy | Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) | Social Work | Behavior 911 | Executive Functioning | Nutritional Counseling | Tutoring | Reading and Neuropsychology Diagnostics and Support. They are dedicated to helping children blossom.

About The Author

Natalie Monterastelli

Natalie Monterastelli

I am a parent, teaching artist, writer, and entrepreneur who believes in the power of the Arts to help us connect, learn, and grow. My goal is to ignite wonder and compassion through my business (Bubbles Academy), nonprofit...

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