Brittany Baron

As parents, we want to give our children the best possible start in life. One of the most important ways to do this is by helping them develop strong language skills. Children who have strong language and communication skills are more likely to succeed in school, have better relationships with others, and have better job prospects later in life. And you don’t need to be a language expert, child development pro, or find magical extra hours in the day to make a lasting impact. Parenting is hard we are here to help make it feel a little so with practical tips, advice, and mom-of-four-tested best practices and research for your real life.

So, how can we help a one-year-old develop strong language skills? In this post, we will go over the practical and easy-to-apply tips to get you started.

There is no shortage of buzzword lingo for identifying the best way for young children to learn and play. Sensory play, creative play, and cooperative play are all important but here we are bringing it back to basics, open ended-play. Breaking down what exactly is open-ended play, what toys can be called open-ended, and clear actionable strategies to encourage open ended-play for young children.

And before I dive in, it’s no secret play, and hanging with my crew of kids is absolutely my jam. I often say my #1 parenting hack is simply finding a short window of time each day to connect and play with each one of them. It isn’t going to happen every day but I 100% see a MAJOR change in their moods and mine when we haven’t been prioritizing play together.

This wasn’t always the case, play didn’t come naturally to me as a mom despite years of formal training, working with hundreds of kids as a teacher and literacy program coordinator and teacher trainer. But we found our groove and here are my best tips and tricks!