Say what you see. Short phrases. Ask for nothing back.
For years you may have been told to drill words. Flashcards. Repeat after me. Say the word and you get the toy. Tonight, try the opposite. You are going to talk, and ask for nothing back.
Here is what most of us do. We point and quiz. "What color is that? What is this? Can you say ball?" It feels like teaching. To a child who processes slowly, it feels like a test they keep failing.
Every question is a small demand. Stack enough of them and your child learns that being near you means being quizzed.
Sit beside them. Watch what they touch. Then just name it. "Red car. The car goes fast. Crash." Short phrases. No questions. You are narrating, like a calm sportscaster for their play.
Researchers call this parallel talk. It means you talk alongside what your child is doing, instead of asking them to perform.
When you name things without demanding a response, you take the pressure off. The word arrives attached to something real your child is already looking at. That is how language actually sticks.
Children pick up words faster when those words match what they are already paying attention to. This is one of the most consistent findings in how language develops.
Language does not always arrive on schedule, or in order. Some children echo a line from a show first. Some name a whole sentence before a single word. A child who repeats "chopping broccoli" from a movie is not stuck. They are using a script as a door into talking.
"What sounds like an echo is often the first knock on the door. Keep answering it."
Pick one everyday moment. Narrate it in short phrases, and ask for nothing. Which moment feels easiest to start with?
When it's a hard moment, you don't need a lesson. Go to Right now →