Communication skills allow children to express themselves effectively and relate well with others. These essential skills begin to emerge in young infants, and continue to develop through social interactions with caregivers and other children.
In this article, we take a look at the many different factors that contribute to a child’s ability to communicate effectively, and share some simple strategies educators can use to support communication skill development with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
Communication encompasses verbal language skills, such as speaking and listening, and non-verbal forms of communication, like gestures, nods, and facial expressions. The ability to connect with caregivers is essential for children of every age, so it is not surprising that the earliest communication occurs through interactions between babies and their responsive adult caregivers. Infants communicate with smiles, eye contact, pointing, and reaching for items and people. As children grow and develop, they begin to make vocal sounds and incorporate language skills that enable them to say their first words. Before long, they are putting words together to form short sentences, and transitioning to more complex uses of language, like asking questions and engaging in back-and-forth conversations.
Early communication skills contribute to a child’s ability to thrive in the more structured learning environments they will experience in elementary school. A strong foundation in both verbal and non-verbal forms of communication will equip children to listen to their teacher’s instructions, comprehend new information, ask and answer questions, communicate with friends, articulate ideas, and more.
Communication skills are learned best through everyday moments and interactions. Many of the activities that are a natural part of providing care for young children are also effective strategies for supporting early communication development. For example, when we talk, sing, listen, and respond to children, we are allowing them to experience what it is like to engage in meaningful social experiences, interactions, and conversations.
During their first few months of life, infants communicate primarily by crying and making cooing sounds. As they develop, they begin to add nonverbal forms of communication, such as gesturing, pointing, and shaking their heads.
Educators can support emerging communication skills in infancy by responding to the child’s cues. For example, when a baby cries, we might say something like “I know that you’re feeling hungry. It’s time to have something to eat.” Or, when an infant says “bababa” we might respond with “Yes! That’s a ball!” These simple back-and-forth conversational exchanges help children connect through words and gestures as they learn conversational patterns. Babies also enjoy hearing their caregivers describe what is going on during care routines and daily activities.
Toddlers begin to experiment with verbal communication, and they enjoy learning new words and sounds. Educators can support these new ways of communicating by sharing books with toddlers and talking with them about the different pictures, characters, and events they see on the book’s pages. This turns reading into an interactive conversation and an opportunity to learn through exploration.
At this age, care providers can also begin to teach children about different forms of nonverbal communication. For example, we might point out that “Mary is shaking her head and putting her hands up to tell you no. She’s saying that she doesn’t like that and would like you to stop.” This helps children to learn that gestures and expressions can also communicate messages.
During preschool, children’s verbal communication skills expand at a rapid rate. At this age, children put multiple words together to form sentences and can engage in back-and-forth conversations. Their eagerness to learn is frequently expressed by asking “why,” “where,” “what,” “when” and “how” questions.
Answering these questions is a great way to support children’s developing communication skills. Educators can build a back-and-forth conversation with the child by adding follow-up questions. For example, if a child asks “When are we going outside?” educators might respond with “We’re going outside after we have a snack. What kinds of things do you want to do when we get out there?”
As children approach kindergarten, their vocabulary becomes much more expansive, and they can engage in more complex conversations. At this age, we can support children’s communication skill-building by playing games like Simon Says and Red Light Green Light. These types of games encourage children to practice listening to and following instructions, skills that will be important for success in kindergarten and beyond.
