Do you have a toddler who keeps changing their mind about what they鈥檙e interested in? Do they love new objects better than ones they鈥檝e already seen? Well, when it comes to learning language, variety is the spice of life! As soon as they鈥檝e learned something, your little one wants to move on to something new.
Many studies show this. When scientists show toddlers lots of pictures of cats; and then show them a picture of a cat and a picture of a dog, toddlers will spend much longer looking at the dog because they鈥檝e already learned what a cat looks like.聽They鈥檙e learning about groups. And, amazingly, their ability to put pictures into groups improves, if they hear the name of the group, while they鈥檙e looking at the pictures.
So even when your toddler is very little, language shapes the way they understand the world. By 12 - 18 months, your toddler is already building up the number of words they know -and you can help them learn more! Naming the new things they see makes them more interested in them. And if they鈥檙e interested in something, they鈥檙e more likely to learn the word for it. And, your toddler will learn more if they have plenty of opportunities to play with new things 鈥 and they might be ones you wouldn鈥檛聽expect!
Are you finding that the things that most interest your toddler are changing all the time?
This is to do with the way they're learning - they always want to find out about something new.
Image caption, Do you have a toddler who keeps changing their mind about what they鈥檙e interested in? Do they love new objects better than ones they鈥檝e already seen? Well, when it comes to learning language, variety is the spice of life!
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