Conversation skills involve turn-taking, listening, responding appropriately, and maintaining topics. These skills are essential for social interaction, learning, and building relationships. Through practice and modeling, toddlers develop the ability to engage in meaningful exchanges.
Effective conversation requires understanding when to speak and when to listen, how to respond to others' comments, and how to maintain attention. These activities provide opportunities to practice these skills in fun, low-pressure ways.
Games that require taking turns help children understand the back-and-forth nature of conversation.
Play simple turn-taking games: rolling a ball back and forth, taking turns adding blocks to a tower, or passing a toy. Use language: "My turn, your turn." This builds conversation turn-taking skills.
Activities that require careful listening help children develop attention and comprehension skills needed for conversation.
Play "Simon Says" or give simple directions to follow. Read stories and ask questions about what happened. Play sound games: "What sound do you hear?" This builds active listening skills.
Practice asking and answering questions, which is fundamental to conversation.
Ask simple questions throughout the day: "What's that?" "What are you doing?" "How do you feel?" Model answering questions. Play "20 Questions" with familiar objects. This builds question-answer skills.
Pretend phone conversations help children practice conversation skills in a fun, familiar context.
Use toy phones or pretend phones to have conversations. Model phone etiquette: greeting, asking questions, listening, saying goodbye. This builds conversation structure and turn-taking.
Begin to take turns in simple interactions. Respond to questions with gestures or sounds. Engage in back-and-forth babbling with adults. Start to understand conversation structure.
Answer simple questions with words. Begin to ask questions. Take turns in short conversations. Maintain topics briefly. Use appropriate eye contact and attention.
Engage in longer conversations. Ask and answer questions appropriately. Maintain topics for multiple turns. Use conversation to share experiences and ideas. These skills support social relationships.