The children’s communication charity ‘I CAN’ posted on their blog this week with an update on their 2012 ‘Chatterbox Challenge’. You can read more about the challenge on their website, here: http://www.ican.org.uk/chatterboxchallenge

The Chatterbox Challenge is “an annual fundraising activity for nurseries, children’s groups and childminders. Children aged 0-5 have fantastic fun and develop their communication skills by singing songs and rhymes to raise money for children who struggle with their speech and language”.

I CAN are very clear on the importance of using nursery rhymes and song as methods of promoting language development. It is not a coincidence that nursery rhymes have been used for hundreds of years. Children can practice lots of different skills necessary for successful language acquisition when they take part in nursery rhymes, from practicing how to pay attention, practicing listening skills, and understanding about rhythm. And obviously, nursery rhymes teach rhyming skills – “If your child knows that “wall” rhymes with “fall” from the “Humpty Dumpty ” rhyme, they will find it easier to learn that if you change the first letter of a word, it can make a new one.”

I CAN’s Communication Adviser recommends practicing nursery rhymes with your child as part of their everyday routine, including:

• When dressing – “Heads, shoulders, knees and toes”
• When out walking or in the car – “The wheels on the bus go round and round”
• In the bath – “Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream”
• Brushing teeth or hair – “This is the way we brush your hair”
• Changing nappies – “Round and round the garden”
• Putting on socks and shoes – “This little piggy goes to market”
• Playing together -　 “Horsey, horsey don’t you stop” or “Pat a cake”

Using these rhymes alongside daily activities, and swapping words to include the objects that they are interacting with, will also help to build vocabulary as the child begins to make links between the object they’re holding and the word they’re singing.

You can read I CAN’s most recent blog post here (http://blog.ican.org.uk/2012/01/chatterbox-challenge-2012-developing-communication-through-singing/), which includes suggestions for what songs are appropriate according to the child’s age, as well as more information about where to find nursery rhymes and their words.

If you think that your toddler or child may benefit from speech and language therapy, Integrated Treatment Services could be of help. Contact us here: https://integratedtreatmentservices.co.uk/contact-us/enquiry

Sarah Bennington, January 2012

Written on behalf of Integrated Treatment Services. Integrated Treatment Services is a private Speech and Language Therapy service based in Leicestershire and the East Midlands. It specialises in providing highly-skilled Speech and Language Therapists, but also associates with other therapeutic professionals, including Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Psychologists and Arts Therapists.