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Expert Q&A
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| By Mindy Hudon Speech and Language Pathologist | ||
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My husband thinks that our 18-month-old daughter should be verbally asking for what she wants. She will point and make sounds at the things that she wants. Can you help?
Encouraging your daughter to use her words to request something is a good idea; however, pressuring her to "say a word or you don't get what you want," may be too extreme for an 18-month-old. At 18 months, toddlers usually can use single words, word approximations, "ju" for "juice," or will start to combine words into little sentences, "more juice." Help your child use more words than gestures by modeling language. (See the article From My Lips to Yours: A Parent's Guide to Modeling Language.) Your daughter should feel that using her words is fun, so give her a lot of verbal encouragement when she uses them."
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