Tips for Parents

We sat down with Mrs. Bauer, the leader of the Young Children’s Community at Baan Dek, and put together a few basic tips for parents, which we hope are helpful, on how best to inspire language and math development, at this formative age:

• To cultivate a language environment for the child, you can model using correct language and voice, speaking slowly and clearly, allowing them an opportunity to speak. For example. “I am hungry, are you hungry?”

• Encourage the use of words rather than using sounds to communicate desires. Even though you might know perfectly well what your child wants or needs, support their use of words and sentences. For example, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Do you need something?”

• Observe and take note of the world around you with your child in order to teach new vocabulary, for example, “Wow, I see a robin! Have you ever seen a robin?”

• Sing, read books, and foster opportunities for conversation with your child. “Would you like to read this book, or sing a song?”

• Don’t be afraid to use math words even with very young children. For example, “There are two of us, let’s share our cookie. Let’s divide it in two.”

These are just a few examples of ways to encourage the growth of your child’s language and math development. We’d love to hear your own examples! Feel free to write us. Let’s have a conversation.