#Ummitips: How to teach kids to talk

Assalamualaikum!


I made a video on how i taught Nadrah to talk and learn words, but it was very all over the place coz i didn't plan on doing the video in the first place bahahahaaaa~

Sort of like a 'spur of the moment' kinda thing.

So ok, almost everytime i post a video of Nadrah on instagram, mesti ada yang tanya how i taught her to speak english and how she knows so many words for her age. I honestly don't know how many words a 3 year old should have, but thanks anyway for the compliment! Heheee..

Now, as a reminder, i am not a 'parenting expert', a 'child-development-enthusiast', a 'my-school-is-better-than-your-school-kinda-mom', i'm a noob parent. Like you kot. Bahahaaa~

Let's get started, shall we?

Ok. Bismillah.

1. Introduce new words when they're ready.
Start simple je. Make them do some mouth exercises when they can, like "mama", "lala", "bubu", even if they don't make sense! Hehehee..
And then when they're able, advance to "mami", "lilu", "hahu", etc.
Well you get it kan?

2. Talk. A lot. And singing helps too.
Even when you know they don't understand. Bahahaa! =p
Kadang2 penat bercakap. But oh well. Talk is cheap though. Heheheheeeeee
I let Nadrah watch Hi5 when she turned 1. Coz she's not into cartoons (then), so watching Hi5 was the best. She learnt body coordination, balance and slowly started imitating the dance moves, which is good la kan. But i didn't give her much tv time. Her dad does -_-"
I learnt Hi5 songs too so that we can sing and dance together. I banyak lupa lagu nursery rhymes, and they're kinda boring. Haha! So Hi5 songs were ok. =)

3. Play, play and play.
By playing (a lot) with Nadrah, i realised that she learnt faster and better. For example, throwing a ball. Up and Down. Ball is Round. Push the Ball. Throw the Ball. Catch the Ball.
Secara tak langsung, she understood what actions were, she knew objects, she knew shapes and colours, etc. Of course i had to repetitively tell her everything i did and made it fun for her.

4. Find out what they like and use it to your advantage muahahaha!
This is a lot of trial and error.
And money. I longed for Big Bad Wolf because that's the only time i get to buy books for Nadrah and good thing they also have activity books. Murah murah lak tu! Save moolah.
Nadrah doesn't like story books when she was younger. Now dah ok sikit. I realised that she doesn't like all the cartoony stuff. She's more into books that have real pictures. And good thing i got that Shapes & Colours' book for her, which i bought unitentionally. (It was only RM3, so i though, beli je la.). Turned out to be her favourite book.
See!
Different kids, different preference.

5. Repetition.
It's tiring, but necessary. Sometimes they get it and forget instantaneously, so kena la banyak bersabar juga hehe.

6. Stop comparing!!!
Benda ni toxic gila. I used to compare Nadrah to other kids coz i didn't know what she should be able to do at a certain age. Like i didn't know she was supposed to start crawling at, say, 10months. Is she supposed to start crawling now? How come anak so-and-so dah boleh crawling at 10 months? How come Nadrah belum lagi?
But when i caught myself getting frustrated for something so trivial, i insaf terus. I stopped it completely, and changed to using online articles from experts as guidelines.

7. Encourage them to speak in full sentences.
When they can identify the things they want, then make them say it in a proper sentences. Make it simple at first, and gradually add on more vocab & correct their grammar as they grow.
Nadrah used to say "I got have school today", "I don't got have water". Hahahaha!!

8. Control tv/gadget time at home.
I used to be very strict on that.
Now have to consider. When we're out, if it involves safety, i'd rather let her watch something on my phone than let her run around. I used to be able to chase her around, but now dah tak larat sangat. Especially since i have baby Isaac to look after too.
I tried bringing playdoh, pencils, pens, etc, to distract her, but sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't. When they do work, alhamdulillah. When they don't, i usually choose Hi5 for her or those phonics videos. I remember those days when our fingers were the only things she would sing..
Daddy finger, daddy finger where are you..
Here i am, here i am, how do you do...

Nightmare..

So i think 8 ni je la yang boleh pakai.
I think the simpler we do it, the better. Parenting i mean.
I've asked so many people on how they deal with their kids, and they all said the same thing:
"Kena banyak bersabar".
Or sewaktu dengannya.
And it's true. You need loads of it. So pray for it k!

Sometimes you just do you and suddenly everything's ok, and you'll be like "what did i do ek??? apa i buat sampai menjadi ni?"
It's like cooking.
If follow sangat recipe, tak semestinya jadi.
Tapi kalau buat ikut rasa kita (while referring to the recipe), somehow jadi.

Haaa~

I hope these notes (notes ke?) are helpful and beneficial! I'm sure you're way better than me. Cuma you tak tau kot. Hehe!
Just chill k! First-time mommies always have so many doubts about mommy-ing, but dont worry.
You'll get yourself together someday.

Peace out!

Here's the video k! Basically the same thing. Cuma nampak muka. =)