Your name is on the tip of my tongue – why can’t I remember it?
You’re walking down the street when you spot someone familiar; as you get closer, you desperately try to think of their name. Your brain is filled with information about them, just not the detail you need and, worst of all, they remember your name. We’ve all been there, and you might feel it's happening more often since you became a parent – with a brain full of other things to remember and organise.
Forgetting people’s names is a common mistake,[1] not that this makes us feel any better about it. But why does the name of a person escape us just as we need to access it? And is there anything you can do to make it less likely you’ll forget the name of the nice lady at the baby group (again)?
Oral exploration – how your baby’s mouth is their key to learning
Babies learn about the world through their mouths. Those little movements from their mouth, lips, and tongue will help them explore and make connections that will support their development as they grow.
Let's take a look at some of the things your baby learns about as they move their very busy mouths:
Storytelling and its magic for applying words to real life
Who doesn’t love a good story? Escapism is beneficial to both children and adults, and a good book can grab our attention over and over again. Books support your toddler’s development in plenty of ways; you’ve probably read a thing or two about them in some of the earlier skills, but we can’t overstate the joy of books – the learning they provide is incredible. Now that your toddler is starting to use the words ‘the’ and ‘a’, reading books can truly embed how to use these words in speech.
Most books have a theme, a setting, a plot, and a character or more.
Toddlers do the funniest things – and verbs help describe them
We know that having a toddler can sometimes leave you wondering, “What has just happened?!” They do the funniest things, which at the time might not be funny, but sometimes it's good to make use of the surprising things they do to support their skills in language.
Before we go into this, if we quickly recap on verbs and how your toddler might be using them, it helps to see the value of encouraging auxiliary verbs in their language.
Why does my child love to join in with parts of familiar stories?
You might let out a little sigh when the same book comes out again, and again, but hearing the same words being read helps your child learn as they can better understand word meanings and how to use them in context. It’s typical for children to enjoy books that have repetitive and familiar phrases as they are easier for them to remember, and it’s quite fun for them to chant along with you as you read!
Why repetition in stories is good...
The sequence and flow of the day – how understanding is coming together
Sequencing helps your child carry out events and tell stories in the right order. You probably talk to your child every day about what's happening, putting together a sequence of plans. Being able to put events into chronological order is a skill that’s used more than you might think, and one that'll be handy for your child to achieve.
Putting events in order happens all the time – your daily routine is a perfect example of this!
Don’t think about toy monkeys – why using negative instructions can have unintended consequences!
We know what you are thinking about now – even though we told you not to. Are you wondering what toy monkeys have to do with your toddler’s development? Thinking about how you respond to a negative statement can be helpful when thinking about supporting your toddler’s understanding and behaviour.
Time to chat – how you support your toddler’s speech development
The way children learn to understand and speak is fascinating to scientists and parents alike. How does your toddler learn the vocabulary and grammar of the language or languages you speak? Do you need to spend time teaching them and getting them to practise new words? You might be pleased to hear the short answer is no, just chat with them.
In 2019, educational psychologists and professors at Harvard Graduate School of Education, Meridith Rowe and Catherine Snow, reviewed research about language development,particularly which of the things that parents and other caregivers do to support children’s language learning during the first five years.[1]
Questions, questions, questions – why so many?
Questions are a sure sign that your toddler’s language and cognitive skills are growing. They’re making loads of connections in their brain and wanting to discover more about the world around them. Questions are very simply your toddler wanting to gather information.[1]
Research tells us that there are three types of question[2,3]
Say my name, say my name, I might know you’re trying to get my attention
As adults, we often zone in and out – sometimes actively choosing to just to get a few more seconds of peace and quiet (shhh – don’t tell anyone!). At other times, we think we hear everything that’s said to us, but we might be focused on something else and discover that someone has been talking and we simply haven’t heard them.
In your toddler's case, there may be times when you think they're ignoring you deliberately, but more often than not, they will just be engrossed in what they're doing and genuinely don't hear you. Your toddler is learning to be able to stop what they're doing and switch their attention to listen and focus on what you are saying. And this is a skill that takes time to master.
