• Published by Salsabilatuzzahra Jaha S.Psi. from BehaviorPALS Center 

Communication skills are a very important ability for individuals to have. Individuals communicate to socialize and to survive. Communication is divided into 2 : receptive and expressive language. Receptive where the ability to understand language or information while expressive is the ability to express it. Both of these abilities are very important to develop early on. Children who have good communication skills will increase the bond and attachment between the child's relationship with the family. This is because children will understand what other people feel and it will affect their behavior. For this reason, parents' awareness and concern are needed to develop children's communication skills. There are many daily activities that parents can do with their children to develop communication receptive skills. The following will describe daily activities that can be done to improve children's receptive abilities:

1. Read a book

Books are an excellent medium for developing children's language. Take your time to read with children. You can use the strategy of encouraging your child to find and point to pictures on the page.

• Draw their attention to images by labeling and pointing to them to expand vocabulary, such as “oh this is fish”
• Retell important parts of the story and ask questions to help understand the story.

2. Games I Spy

One of the best games for children's receptive language is the I Spy game. The I Spy Game can be done anywhere and can also be used in the media book.

• You can use a page of a book full of drawing objects and then you can say "I spy something yellow with my eyes." If your child has a vocabulary that starts to vary, you can add adjectives such as "small, big, tall" etc
• You can also make it a competition to see who can find the most objects.
• Apart from books, you can play this game wherever you and your child are. Suppose you and your child are in the living room. You can start the game with objects around the living room,

3. Simon Says Game

Simon says the game is a classic game that is very good for developing children's receptive language. In this game, children are required to hear instructions so they know what they have to do.

• You can alternate with the child in the following and who is giving instructions.
• Gradually you can increase the length of the command given. For example "The captain says raise your hand" until it becomes complex like "The captain says raise your hand and then takes 2 steps forward" and so on.
• Then, you can also vary the command by using the verb and the body. For example "Clap your head" or "Shake your right foot" and others

4. At mealtime

Apart from playing in the context of the play, eating activities can also improve children's receptive skills.

• At mealtime, you can ask your child to set the table.
• You can give simple instructions while demonstrating it. For example "put the spoon on the plate".
• Once your child can follow instructions with the model. Then slowly remove the help of the model and give directions using only verbal.
• You can also make jokes like “put a napkin…..on your head!” This is so that the learning atmosphere feels fun. This is also done to see whether your child understands or not.
• Gradually you can increase the instructions to become more complex. For example "take a spoon and mix and then place it in the middle of the table"

5. while shopping

Shopping activities are also an opportunity for children to learn the receptive language. Some of the things you do before and during shopping are:

• Make a shopping list, including pictures if necessary, and take your child shopping.
• When shopping with your child, you can give directions like "Cereal is on the shelf over there" or ask questions like "where is the milk section shelf?"
• You can expand your child's vocabulary by labeling things around them such as "That shirt is very nice!" and others.
• You can expand the activity by inviting the child to choose daily necessities such as diapers, fruits, vegetables, etc.

Those are just a few examples of activities that can be done to develop children's receptive skills. Of course, the role of parents and those around them is very much needed. Frequently inviting children to communicate is the main key to developing children's language skills. Keep up the spirit parents!

By Salsabilatuzzahra Jaha S.Psi from the BehaviorPALS Center

Source : A Parent Handbook by CPAS (Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore) Speech and Language Pathology Department. 

https://cpas.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/SLPbook_60ppA5_SPREAD_FALr.pdf

language, verbal, skills, speech, children

Baby 6 Months - 18 Months / Bayi 6 - 18 Bulan / Psychological Development / Tumbuh Kembang Psikologis / Education / Pendidikan / Activities that can improve receptive language skills!

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