A great way to build language and vocabulary for your child is to narrate your life. Read to find out what it means to narrate your life and how to do it.

What does it mean to “narrate your life?”

Narrating your life means that you say what you are doing or are going to do. This is what you might do with little babies as you move about your day such as, “We are going to grandma’s today! Let’s get your coat on. Now your gloves. Good job, you got your shoes!”

This same type of narration helps preschool age children as well.

There are many benefits such as:

• Language development
• Object-word correlation
• Social skills

We’ve done this with our little one and people comment on how smart he is. I’m not sure if he’s smarter than the average 2-year-old, but he sure is chatty! With his verbal language so well developed, he can express his thoughts better.

Different ways to narrate your life:

• When you are driving in the car, explain all the things you see. "Oh, look at that big tree with the orange leaves." You can even say, “wheeeeee” when you turn a corner.
• When someone comes to the house, or when a caregiver gets home, talk about their car, say they are here, and either look out the window or wait by the door for that person to come in.
• Tell your child what they are eating and describe its attributes, such as, “the macaroni is hot, so blow on it,” and “yum, macaroni noodles.”
• Change your child’s clothes and describe each item of clothing. You can even have them pick out the outfit by describing the colors in each one or the textures.
• When you put your child to bed, tell them each thing you are doing and then label it as you do it, such as, “we are going to change your diaper, put on your pajamas, read a book, then get in bed.” Then you can say, “we changed your diaper, now its time to put on your pajamas, then read a book, then get in bed. It seems excessive, but this is how you reinforce language (and routines! and follow through!).

Tips to narrate your life:

• If your child repeats a word you say, get excited!! Repeat the word back to them with a big smile, clap, tell them good job, and anything else you can do to give them positive reinforcement.
• Give wait time. Once you explain what you are doing, give your little one a moment to absorb the information and possibly add their own thoughts.

Happy narrating!