How to Teach a Toddler to Talk - 3 Tips- Speech Therapy for Toddlers

As a speech therapist, I always keep three main things in mind whenever I’m trying to teach a child something new, especially speech. They are simplification, motivation, and repetition.

🙋‍♀️ Hi! I’m Kayla (Chalko) Gonzales, a licensed speech-language pathologist in California specializing in early intervention for toddlers with speech delays.

👉🏻 Want to advance your child’s language skills?

Disclaimer: I’m a licensed speech-language pathologist in California. These videos are meant for general education. Every child is different; this should not be taken as medical advice. Please consult with a professional in your area.

[PatrickSwave]

I’ll be honest I felt like a dad that wasn’t doing his job to the full potential. I’m glad to see other parents have the courage to speak on the talking issues with their child.

[amberdaily]

Instantly tried this with my daughter and she loved it. She even tries saying bubbles.

[piklepepz]

The bubbles idea has helped me so much with my child I can see him understanding conversation more and he gets excited to sit and learn new words because it's a fun time for him thank you!

[ciaralynne]

This was very encouraging I can’t wait to use this on my son! He’s 2 1/2 and is a late speaker yet he’s fully potty trained and feed himself with silverware lol. He is just not into talking yet.

[olgacoulter]

As a preschool teacher for 22 months to 32 months, I really appreciate this advice. I know it is a wide learning range but it is an easy lesson to change according to development

[serinab]

my son will be 24 months next month and still isn't talking.. makes me feel so guilty as a mother.

[phoeberia]

My son just turned 4 and still hasn't quite started talking... he'll say things and he clearly understands when we ask stuff of him, like if I ask him to get his shoes, he'll run and get them even get his socks, or even a couple others... honestly both me and his dad were very late talkers x.x

[LadyLinas]

Thanks for the much needed tip! Although very obvious because we do this quite often at times when we're overwhelmed we tend to forget. Great reminder!

[nichettucker]

Great tips! As an Early childhood educator I use these with my class.

[betsycruz]

So glad i found your channel my daughter is 3 years old going to turn 4 and she still talks nonsense, doesn't have full conversation she does say alot words, follows directions, understand everything & i understand her for the most part she also did go to speech therapy for 3 months, it did help her a little and i try to yeach her at home as well but idk i just feel like am failing as a mom, it's so frustrating:( idk what to do. It's like if she has a jard time saying full sentences but she can says so much words whatever i tell her i could be reading to her or whatever the case it is and she repeats after me. And i know am not the only mom that feels that way seeing another kids the same age as your kids, they dont speak as clearly or good as your kid just makes me feel like I'm not doing something right.

[shelbynicole]

Thanks for all your videos it helps a lot. My 2 year old has really taken off since I started implanting your tips and tricks. He went from saying one word to now knowing the entire alphabet, animals, shapes numbers and colors. But the only thing we struggle with now is getting him to verbalize his needs like telling me when he is hungry. Do you have a video for that?

[ericavelez]

My son is 18 and points to everything! My daughter has speech delay and it’s tough I was really hoping not to go through the same thing with my son.

[idahsariff]

My Daughter is 3.5 years. She can only speak limited words. She has no problem with her motor skills, able to understand and able to follow instructions. But just that she used more actions than words.

[jadesabile]

omg! this is exactly what I need right now... thank u sooo much!

[mirrormirror]

You're so pretty and happy, I bet children love you! Thanks for the tips!

[simpdestructor]

I want to learn english and that is the reason why I'm here (I think my level is basic) but i would like to be fluent 😳 that is one of my dreams!!!

[jcbabi]

I needed this ! My daughter is almost 2 & a half but doesn't talk too much or she can't pronounce certain words .

[Eyes_dont_Lie]

Id love for her to be my kids teacher. She seems
Sweet and genuine

[ananse]

I like your clarity and enthusiasm. Thing is, a lot of suggestions I see tend to assume that the child has difficulty pronouncing words, has a limited vocabulary, etc. My 3 year-old doesn't have those problems. She has always pronounced words and phrases clearly, since she was 1, and she knows a lot of words in a passive "identification" sense. BUT, she will only repeat words and phrases to herself from the songs she hears and storybooks I read to her. She does this all day. She NEVER uses language in a personal or conversational way, to communicate her needs and wants like hunger, thirst, sleepiness, desire for a particular item or activity, etc.

If I ask her if she's hungry or thirsty or needs a nap or wants grapes, whatever, she's COMPLETELY SILENT. I've instinctively tried the motivation thing, e.g. she wants to go outside and I try to get her to say "Outside", or she wants me to open a little bag of cookies, and I withhold them and try to get her to say "Open". Doesn't work. She's stubborn and will walk away as if she prefers to not have the thing she wants than to say the word I'm prompting her to say. Or she becomes frustrated and has a tantrum. And these are words I've heard her say to herself a number of times before, in a non-personal way.

It's very frustrating because whenever she wants something or is uncomfortable in any way, she just cries and we still have to guess what she wants or what's bothering her. I thought by now we wouldn't have to be doing that. And with a new baby due in a little over a month, it's going to be a lot to handle.

[ccstephens]

My son as 4. He use to not say anything at all but now he saids a few words but only when he wants something or sings but I cant get him to converse with me. He just doesn't care. He does speech therapy but I wish he cared enough to want to converse with me