Speak. Then Say It Again in a Different Way.

Especially over the past few months, as my daughter has started to say more words, I’ve tried to help increase her vocabulary and understanding by just slightly changing something that I do.

I say something to her.

Then I phrase it in a different way. There were two main reasons or ways of thinking about it:

Demonstrating Synonyms

What I say generally has the same message each way I say it, but by substituting words, I encourage my daughter to associate words that are similar. She starts to learn that more than one word can word for a similar situation, and if she recognizes one (“large”), she may realize that another (“big”) can also work.

Examples:

Just a word substitution (aka find a synonym):

• Are you sleepy?
• Are you tired?

Substitute a word but add additional information as well:

• Please hold my hand.
• Please grasp my hand as we walk across the street. We need to look both ways before we go.

Slight phrase changes:

• Does that hurt?
• Is it painful?

Demonstrating Slight Differences While Getting More Information

Other times I may slightly change the words or phrasing to show that sometimes words are similar (angry/upset) but can have slightly different meanings depending on how we use them and the context of the situation. If that sounds odd, these examples should help clarify what I mean.

Rephrase the concept (“noisy” “loud”) if you need to have the child respond to a situation.

• It’s very noisy in here.
• Does it bother you that it’s so loud?
• I can see that you’re upset.
• Are you crying because you’re scared, or did the dog accidentally hurt you as he ran by?