10 exercises to help children express themselves

Children from 4 to 6 years can be small-scale speakers, you just have to give them court. And it is that for enrich the verbal expression of children, at least before five or six years, you have to give them opportunities for them to express themselves really favoring a climate of questions and conversations, where new subjects can be drawn and they can express wishes.

Therefore, we must enrich the children's experience and nurture their curiosity because this way, with all naturalness, new words, action verbs, etc. will be used. This natural method consists of maximizing the expression of children, making them speak. With the frequent handling of the language in multiple circumstances, the spontaneous expression is refined, purified, structured and enriched.

Nowadays, the domain of different types of language It has become essential for school and professional life, as well as for daily routine. Thus, the learning of oral and written expression is a key moment in the child's life.

Language bath

It is very important to literally immerse your children in a language bath or, what is the same, that all the activities carried out in common are a pretext to talk about what we do; for example, while we prepare the food we can say: "Now we will make fried potatoes, first peel the potatoes and then cut them".

Verbal stimulation is basic; you have to talk to the child, talk to him a lot (without overwhelming him) and as simply as possible, at any time of the day, for example, in the bathroom, at bedtime, during the walk, etc. Alternating moments of stimulation we can let the child speak alone, which will allow him to freely explore his vocal possibilities.

1. Speak alone
Our son has something personal to say, so we must be especially attentive when he starts talking about anything. For this reason, lWe'll let him speak alone (when he draws, with his dolls), it allows him to explore his vocal possibilities. The child who speaks comes out of himself, projecting the images and emotions that constitute the plot of his small inner life.

2. New experiences
We can provide our son with new experiences to express that situation of spontaneous way with exclamations, interjections, joy, etc. Everyday life hides hundreds of reasons of interest: swing, pick him up, an aquarium, a new animal, etc. When something interests you, language is really a means of expression.

3. Affective environment
In children of these ages, the expression is impregnated with affectivity and therefore, the environment in which they live is of paramount importance. We can set a few moments a day to show him explicitly that affection with caresses, games, etc. We seek to express spontaneously, with confidence laugh and speak, thanks to the climate developed in the home.

4. Group games
We all have the experience that we speak with more pleasure when we meet with a group of friends. For children, the need for a group appears progressively, but we can already ensure that relate in their games with other children and express themselves. We can, for example, observe a little separated how he behaves with other friends of his age, if he speaks to them, if he joins them.

5. Family gatherings
The habit of family gatherings is a good habit, which also serves to stimulate verbal expression, as they imbue children with the taste of conversation. Let's try to be present in those quiet talk times, addressing them from time to time.
It does not matter that they do not pay attention and are playing with a doll, for example.

6. How would you do it?
To help our son to express himself, we can make him participate in the different situations or activities of home or school. At the time of placing some books, when ordering clothes, picking up some toys ... we can go to him and ask him. The least of it are the solutions you give us; the important thing is to encourage him to get involved and to express himself.

7. Brothers and cousins
There is no doubt that a child speaks well in a family of which he is the center, but the youngest son of a large family in which life is intense and the world is captured through parents, brothers and sisters is even more favored. Therefore, we can try to have our son play with the greatest number of cousins, brothers, friends, etc. The vocabulary will be richer, although perhaps less formal.

8. Answer the questions
There are many everyday situations that we can take advantage of to stimulate verbal expression. When we go out for a walk or when visitors come home, it will be normal for them to address our son with a question. We must not answer for him or urge him, but respond as he wants.There are some kids who are more shy and have a harder time expressing themselves.

9. Speak clearly
Children imitate the models they find and we are the closest. Therefore, we must strive to speak clearly. An hour of coherent language is better, with well-constructed sentences, clear pronunciation and marked pauses, than a whole day of uninterrupted verbiage. You have to speak naturally and without affectation.

10. Stories toned
A fun exercise that will stimulate our children in their verbal expression is to read stories, especially intoning the phrases: the admiring, the interrogative, doing well the breaks ... It has to do with the models that our son needs to imitate them.

At these ages, it is mainly about us reading them, because they will be learning to read.

Beatriz Bengoechea. Psychologist and family counselor