How to use WIND-UP toys for speech and language develpment

Today is all about how to use a simple wind-up toy to promote speech and language development. Who doesn’t love those cute, colorful, little creatures? Wind-up toys are a great motivator to help your child learn to interact with you. I have about a dozen of them and kids get so excited when they see me pull them out of my bag of toys. Speech and language development is all about engagement. Engage your child in every way possible. Don’t forget to have FUN- laugh, smile, and be silly! Send us some pictures of your child having fun with wind-up toys! [email protected] or post them on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bluewaterspeech.
 
1. Help your child learn to look at you
When the wind-up toy stops working, wait for your little one to look at you. Then start the toy up again and repeat the activity, each time waiting for your child to look at you before you work the toy. Joint attention is a foundational skill for language development and this is an easy way to target it!
 
2. Sabotage your child’s play to encourage him/her to use language to request
Sometimes setting up sabotage is a great way to get more language from your child. Start with your wind-up toys in a tight container, so that it needs to be opened by an adult. Have the child request that you “open” it by saying a word or handing it to you. Then, if your wind-up toys are like mine they will be finicky half the time and your little one will need extra help to get it going. This is another moment when you have them request for your help. Create as many opportunities for your child to ask for help as you can!
 
3. Use wind-up toys to teach signs and words
When your child hands the wind-up toy back to you for your help to activate it, you can use this opportunity to teach the sign for “please” or “more”. Also, while watching the toy with your child, you might encourage signs such as “go”, “stop” or “all done”.
 
4. Teach your child to use ACTION words
Use action verbs to talk about what your toy is doing. Some examples are jumping bunnies, walking bugs, flipping monkeys, and rolling cars!
 
5. Help your child use longer sentences
Have your child imitate simple phrases or sentences to expand their sentences into longer more mature sentences. Examples of simple phrase are “Go monkey!” and “Walk bug”. Examples of simple sentences are “My monkey can jump” and “Look at the bug walk”.
 
6. Teach kids to use alternative communication
I have several kiddos learning to activate a button that says a word for them to communicate. Wind-up toys are the perfect motivator. You can use the phrase “Ready, Set...” and my little ones hit the button with a programmed word “Go”.
 
7. Target speech sounds for articulation practice
Wind-up toys are a great motivator for speech sound practice because they are so fun. Encourage your child to practice targeted speech sounds in words, phrases, and sentences as you take turns activating the wind-up toys.
 
If you have concerns about your child’s speech or language development, it is important to be evaluated by a certified Speech Language Pathologist to set specific goals for your child. This blog is intended to provide general examples of how we use toys in everyday interaction to help children learn to communicate.