It’s pretty common knowledge among speech-language therapists that kids start using gestures before they start saying actual words.

Some research has shown that when toddlers used gestures to represent something, they ended up learning the word for it about three months later, on average.

Now, I gotta mention that this study was done on a small group of talkative toddlers who were going from using single words to putting phrases together. But here’s why it matters for those parents dealing with late-talkers and working with speech therapists:

We need to pay attention to our kids’ gestures! When they show, give, or point to something, it’s a sign that they’re ready to learn. There are a few possible reasons for this:

🤘 Maybe they really want to know that word and are more open to learning it.
🤘 Perhaps they’re getting themselves ready to remember the word and talk about it.
🤘 They could be telling us, “Hey, help me out! Tell me what this thing is!”

Regardless of the reason, they’re telling us, “This word is important! Teach it to me!”

So teach it we will! Get face to face, use the word, use it in a sentence and repeat it often.

Watch the full reel here