Am I Being too Wordy?
Speech Development Tip 7: Use simple commands. Too
many steps or words can overwhelm your child. For example, “Jesse, you
need to go to the closet and get your shoes on before we can go to the
park,” is too wordy. “Jesse, shoes on,” is less overwhelming.
Do you remember the famous line in the Charlie Brown episodes? Anytime an adult talks to the characters in the show, they hear, “whuah, whuah...whuah, whuah... whuah, whuah!” Too many words can be overwhelming. Just because we continue to talk, doesn’t mean they are continuing to listen and comprehend.
Think about learning a new language. When we are first learning a new language, we would be overwhelmed by just jumping into a full on conversation. We learn the different sounds, pay attention to the tones, learn individual words, and build up to short phrases. Our toddlers learn in a similar way. Too many words for them, especially if they have a speech delay, is not helpful. If we want our toddlers to be able to communicate appropriately, we need to slow our speech, and limit our words.
Do you remember the famous line in the Charlie Brown episodes? Anytime an adult talks to the characters in the show, they hear, “whuah, whuah...whuah, whuah... whuah, whuah!” Too many words can be overwhelming. Just because we continue to talk, doesn’t mean they are continuing to listen and comprehend.
Think about learning a new language. When we are first learning a new language, we would be overwhelmed by just jumping into a full on conversation. We learn the different sounds, pay attention to the tones, learn individual words, and build up to short phrases. Our toddlers learn in a similar way. Too many words for them, especially if they have a speech delay, is not helpful. If we want our toddlers to be able to communicate appropriately, we need to slow our speech, and limit our words.
