The Secret Key To Unlocking Your Toddler's Talking

Toddlers love to move.

Toddlers need to move.

We need toddlers to move.

While it's no secret that kids love to move, what might surprise you is just how crucial movement is for their overall development - especially in the realm of speech AND language.

In this episode, I explore the wonderful world where MOVEMENT and SPEECH meet, and discover the proactive steps you can take to nurture your child's healthy development.

What you might not realize is that every jump, twist and turn, every dance move is actually a secret key to unlocking their speech & language potential.

This is what you'll learn about - and HOW to make a difference today.

• Possible Symptoms of Vestibular Problems
• Motor Planning - Articulation and the Vestibular System
• Receptive Language & the Vestibular System
• Three Excellent Movement Activities for Speech and Language Development

Enjoy this episode and don’t forget to share.

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Transcript

Erin: 0:00

These skills impact your child's ability to organize themselves and learn any new routine. I mean, we can always look at academics and that's what a lot of our culture pushes now, you know, do they know their colors? Do they know their numbers? Can they write their name? No, no, no. They will get there. I promise you. If you play these skills. Or if you play these games, right. And you build the skill from the bottom up. Hello, and welcome to Talking Toddlers, where I share more than just tips and tricks on how to reduce tantrums or build your toddler's vocabulary. We're going to cover all of that, but here, our goal is to develop clarity. Because in this modern world, it's truly overwhelming. This podcast is about empowering moms to know the difference between fact and fiction, to never give up, to tap into everyday activities so your child stays on track. He's not falling behind. He's thriving through your guidance. We know that true learning starts at home. So let's get started. Hello, and welcome to another episode of talking toddlers podcast. I'm very excited you're here. It means that you're eager to make a positive impact on your child's development. It also means that you're open to learning. And perhaps. Going against status quo. And if you look at the Latin definition of status quo, it means existing state. Which unfortunately I believe is a little bit unsettling at the moment. Especially for our most vulnerable, our babies and our children. As parents, we understand the boundless energy and enthusiasm, our little ones have for movement. And that's what we're going to talk about today while it's no secret that kids love to move. What might surprise you is just how crucial movement. Is for their overall development as specially in the realm of speech and language. We often hear about the multitude of benefits associated with physical activity at any age, yours, mine, and anybody in between. the benefits are we have improved sleep, enhanced cognitive skills, learning how to learn, right? The whole process of learning there's improved behavior in better moods. There's also increased attention spans. We've seen how physical activity helps in all of these domains. I want to focus on how movement activities play a significant role in promoting your toddler's speech and language development. And how I always talk on these episodes about how these systems connect with one another. And so in today's episode, we're going to delve into the fascinating connection of movement, our games, right. And speech and language development. And then I will offer three engaging activities. Yes. They're classic games. But I'll paint the picture of how important it is. For you and your toddler to start these activities today. All right. So it might not be so immediately obvious to you how physical activity and communication. Verbal communication, talking, listening. Are related, but they are, and there's a lot of research to support this. And I will have several of the latest research articles that really pinpoint these these interrelations, In a previous episode, I shared how we've actually have eight sensory systems. And most of us are very much aware of the five primary ones, sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. And in episode 42, I think it was actually back in may of this year. I talked about interoceptive sensory system and how we need to get in touch with our inner organs. Right. How we know that when we're thirsty or we know that when we're tired, right. We're feeling it inside of our body. Or more importantly with toddlers when they have to go to the bathroom. Right. But today's talk, we're going to focus on another one of those eight systems. So I want you to picture this. You are a little, one is running around jumping climbing. And even attempting somersaults a 16, 18 month old, or it's constantly doing quote unquote dangerous things, but these are all adorable, energetic moves that they just don't seem to get enough of. Right. They're always wanting to move. And what you might not realize is that every twist and turn and jump and dance move. Is actually a secret key to unlocking their speech and language potential. And it's all. Thanks to a fascinating sensory system called the vestibular system. Which is closely linked to our body movements and our balance. So it resides in the inner ear where the cochlear is and all of the main parts of the vestibular system is there. Right within the inner canals, right. And it provides your brain with information about balance motion and the location of your head and body. In relation to all of the surroundings. And so it's really, really important that we, anyone working with. With little, little kids, parents, grandparents, therapists, doctors. They're kind of lacking in some of this background knowledge. But when your child engages in physical activities, this system, this vestibular system Springs into action. And is paving the way for speech and language development. So they are interconnected. Like there's no tomorrow. Research has uncovered this. Mind-boggling. Process that we can really measure. So the vestibular system plays a huge role. In shaping how your child learns to speak. And so it still frustrates me today that my field, my quote, unquote colleagues and my organization, right. The Attia American speech and hearing association. There's still so much controversy and pushback and argument. About the oral motor, where the, the physicality behind speech. And I just kind of shake my head and I no longer get sucked into those. Arguments because it's, to me it's just common sense. In fact, if you're a little one struggles, we know this. If a child struggles with processing vestibular input, and we're going to talk about just what that is. It could lead to very specific speech delays and we know this. So in today's episode, we're going to unravel some of these mysteries. And explain what this connection is. And then I'll share some insights and activities, like I said, and it's all about moms and dads and, and therapists and teachers and all my variety of listeners, grandparents. I'm so happy to hear from all of you. But this strong connection about every day activities and how they all lead to a healthy overall development. So first let's take a quick look at. Possible symptoms of vestibular problems. And like, I always say here, what you see the manifestation of certain behaviors or so-called quote unquote symptoms. Those are, designal telling us that something underneath inside of our human body. Isn't lining up. Right. And so we have to start peeling back. Some of those layers. Keep in mind, pediatric vestibular challenges often go unnoticed. And undiagnosed. If they go on, notice that go undiagnosed until a child is well into preschool or kindergarten or first grade. And I've seen this over and over and over again. And it's mostly because it's difficult for babies and toddlers to speak and tell you what's going on. Hey mom, I feel dizzy or Hey mom, every time I spend, I feel nauseous. They don't have the language or the cognition to be able to explain that to you. They just respond to the discomfort. And then most parents, like you are innocent. And you're not familiar with this developmental area. And like I shared a minute ago, most teachers pediatricians. Hello there. Honestly, you're not familiar with asking these types of questions or connecting these dots. But I do always say. If you mom or dad or grandparents become aware of some of these red flags that I'm going to share, or you begin to notice them, please pick up the phone and call your pediatrician and speak to someone until your questions are answered. Right. I feel like the best professional to evaluate and get to the root of this. Uh, or your, if you have questions would be a pediatric occupational therapist who specializes in early, early intervention and sensory integration processes. That's a special training, special certificate. It's not just any oh. OT and it's, unfortunately it's not typically a school-based occupational therapist. They're much more along functional or it has to impact academics. So there's there's some territorial. Boundaries that we have to understand and work around. Right. But a pediatric occupational therapist who specializes in sensory processing integration. Or a pediatric chiropractor who also specializes in something referred to as craniosacral therapy. So those are two highly specialized. areas under those professional fields, OT and chiropractic. So like all things in this world. I also, because say this. That all professionals are not created equal. Right. It's just reality that, you as mom or dad or grandparents, I want to empower you with some questions. And some knowledge, and then you can take that and literally interview them and see if they understand your and respect your concerns. Um, and if they're willing to spend 15, 20 minutes or more. Um, the phone. To see if you guys are a good fit. That's how I've always worked my practice. And that's what I think a good professional does. And there are many, many out there that do. Unfortunately, there are many that don't. So get referrals from friends or families, neighbors, other professionals that you respect. And then, arm yourself with some good questions and then see if you're a good fit. If some of these vestibular problems seem to be creeping into your daily life, but let's go over them really quickly. And then we can talk about the fun stuff. So the first one would be a delay in gross motor skills. If your toddler consistently struggles with movement milestones. And so that would be sitting up crawling. I'm always talking about crawling here, right? And let's go back to tummy time. Tommy time. Tommy time. Right? Um, or some of those other movement, milestones walking or jumping or going up and downstairs, which is much more difficult, but. We want to look at, is there a consistent struggle? If there is, there could be vestibular issues. Number two frequent vomiting or nausea. Uh, there are lots of reasons why kids could have upset stomachs. But it should not be the norm or happen often. Right? But toddlers with a vestibular issues may have difficulty reorienting themselves. Which then leads to being dizzy and then they could vomit, especially say they eat. And that's why I'm always talking about good, healthy eating habits sitting down. Eating at a slow pace, having good social communication skills, but if they get up from eating. And they go to play in the living room or rustle around with their brother. And they feel. You know, nauseas or dizzy or uncomfortable or start whining. Look for signs. That they're holding their tummy or they're whining. Like I said, Or they don't want to play, and they simply just want to lie down because there's discomfort between their gut and their, Their neurological system right It's not, it's not settling for them. The the food and the digestion and the movement. Right. So number three would be visual problems. Vestibular challenges can cause vision issues such as double vision, blurred vision or seen spots again. Your toddler is not going to be able to express this or even realize that this is quirky or wrong. Right. But you can watch for signs like, are they squinting? Do they cover one eye? Are they rubbing their eyes? Are they complaining that things are too bright or. if you move them from an internal space to an Outdoor space and it's bright and it changes a lot. Do they get really unsettled? So we have to look at a lot of these. Um, levels of sensitivities and levels of discomfort, right? Number four would be head pain. And what that means is toddlers with vestibular issues might experience, Constant headaches or just this low grade migraine. especially it can be triggered with sudden positional changes or movement. Like if they're laying on the floor and you pick them up quickly. And they can really complain that, you know, their head hurts, right. Or they squint their eyes. Or they, push you away or get mad, right? It's a subtle. Abrupt. Jarring to their system. And then, the fifth. One would be imbalance and clumsiness. And this is probably the most common. while a lot of clumsiness is normal during these motor. Development years, write a one, two and three year old, but toddlers with vestibular challenges may frequently fall for apparently no reason. or they could run or bump into objects or people often, especially if they get disoriented after like turning a corner, We're like I said, standing up from a sitting position. That they don't have good judgment of their body in this three-dimensional space. And they can't gauge what it's, you know, how to move their body around the corner or around the piece of furniture or around you. So. Always play the detective. Keep a watch. Watch from a distance, how they're moving, how they're playing. And what kinds of complaints they might be presenting on a consistent basis every once in a while. and I really mean every once in a while, like, two or three times a year, Not two or three times a week. Right. And then you could also look at, do they bounce back when they get tackled by their brother or they, you know, fall off the bed accidentally. Are they able to jump back and kind of get in the groove of things? Do they enjoy being spun or turned upside down? Most healthy. Kind of developing, middle of the road, kids, like all of this kind of movement. And so some of you. Might be familiar with the fact that kids who and up on the autism spectrum, Do you tend to gravitate or seek out these vestibular movements like spinning or rocking or rolling around a lot. And we in the circles that work with kids on the autism spectrum or kids in general. Do consider this quote unquote stimming behavior and what all that means is They're self stimulating to help give their sensory system positive input. So that they can feel more organized and centered and grounded really. And then that helps with their alert state. the problem is they get. You know, really self-absorbed. In that. Sensory satisfaction. And then they tune out the rest of the world. So that's a different conversation. What I always explain to parents is that there's a big, long continuum from really mild, just being human right to pretty severe. autism, severe. schizophrenia, all kinds of different grades of issues that could interfere with your daily life, right. Interfere with your your openness and accessibility to learning and engaging and being part of a social communication. And so. You know, I've used a lot of movement activities to help kids who are working their way through this, this process. So in my practice, I, had a variety of tools, but one of them was always a little rocking horse. you know, it was low on the ground and plastic and whatnot, That they would be rocking on it. And then I would sit on the floor in front of them. They could also be on a little bouncing, trampoline. And, but we would have a conversation. We would practice verbal communication and I would ask them questions, right. Depending on their age. Depending on their language needs and where they are. I could answer, answer simple. Yes, no questions. Or I could ask them simple. Yes, no questions. Can you eat rocks? Do we sleep in a chimney? Can daddy drive a car? Does mommy have feet? Do you snakes fly? Can we sit on a chair? So with each one of these, I would ask a question. And they would process. They're focused on me. Right? Typically it would be this simple language game. They would be on the rocker. They would rock back and forth maybe five times, again, depending on the age could be three times. You know, 1, 2, 3, 4, stop. And now listen. And I would ask, do snakes fly. Right. And there give them that. Moment or two to process. And they will look at me. And once they understand that these are what we call verbal absurdities. And they know they're practicing, listening with intention. and it's a great way to take movement. That helps center them and ground them. And then build their language processing, whether it's verbal expression skills or in this case, it was, auditory. Yes, no processing and thinking and reasoning, and they love the silliness. And you could tell when kids would say yes. Snakes can fly and that, you know, that they're fibbing right there. You know that they're pulling your leg, but you that's higher order thinking. or I could show them a picture or we could share a book and I'd say, What is this boy doing in the picture? Or I could ask. I see a bicycle. Can you find a bicycle? How many bikes do you see? You know, talk about the book together after a few rocks and then we stop and then we listen. Right. Now in, in real time, you would do this in your daily routine. And we're going to talk about what these movement games could look like. From basic nursery rhymes or classic nursery rhymes. Right. But it's always better with movement. So keep in mind. A typical or an average kid. Seeks out these vestibular activities too, because they're building that system. And it's the action, the practice that strengthens these neural pathways in the inner ear, in the auditory cortex, and it builds it up to automaticity and then it helps them with language processing and we'll see how that works with orientation, finding balance. Elance to be able to recalibrate, after they roll down a hill. Right. Sideways. I remember doing that as a kid and there was a place up in Vermont that had this great. Restaurant and outdoor coffee shop and all the kids. Would be rolling down the hill. It was so fun to watch just a natural, beautiful. Outdoor play. but keep in mind if you see any of these funky. Things. You know, pick up the phone, make a few phone calls and don't be afraid to ask. So speaking of asking, I would like to take a quick minute here and ask a big, big favor. If you're gaining benefits from these episodes, please take a minute and write a review. And then also go ahead and share with other moms and dads and family members. And, I, I'm doing a lot of new things and I'm very excited about all of them. And while we have had. A few scheduling and technical issues. I have to admit. For which I truly, truly apologize. For all of those that have inquired, I'm learning on the job, just like you. This is all new after closing my practice, for 35 years. Right. And then I moved out of state. Um, I'm learning a lot of new skills regarding apple podcasting, Spotify. And it's been a lot of fun but I really feel like I'm just getting started. and I hope you guys are feeling like you're just getting started to write. You're a new mom and new dad, new grandparent. You have a toddler. Or in brand new baby and you are in it. and you really want guidance, I thank you for your patience. And I do want to announce a new YouTube launch date, which is November 19th. So it's just around the corner. We're going to take all of these episodes and put them on there as well as, The last couple of months of episodes of video and put them on there. So I'm excited to be able to share and serve moms, dads, grandparents. So help me extend that reach connect with other moms and parents just like you. There's a link down below in the description. And, so let's get back to today's movement exercise, right? So the vestibular system and speech. So there are two sides to this coin. With speech and articulation the motor planning part and motor here in this, context means muscle. And then how it works with the vestibular system. So the vestibular system, that inner ear, right. helps your baby, your toddler's brain with the motor planning. And let me explain how the motor planning is really, really important. is important for all physical activities, but it's also important for speech development. So motor planning is the process that helps us learn motor actions. From tying your shoe, brushing your teeth. Cutting your food, speaking. Driving a car. the whole gamut. So you try something new. And you get some instant feedback on how it went. And then you would just what you do and you try again. You keep adjusting until you find the most efficient way of doing it. From then on. Your brain quickly plans for that action each and every time. That's called mastery. there's no such thing as, as muscle memory, because it's all really taking place in our brains. In our processing system up there in our neurological network, it tells. Our limbs, our fingers, our toes, and our tongue and everything in between. What to do and how to do it. So here's an example. You have a little baby or a toddler and you want to teach them how to wash their hands. So someone shows them how to do it. And eventually though, His brain has to figure out how to move his body physically. To do what was shown or what was told. Right. They have to figure out how to move my body. How can I move my arms or fingers to get the soap? How can I hold the soap in order to rub my hands together? Or is it a liquid soap? And I have to put my hand under the little spicket and I have to pump, I have to push down. That's a lot of motor planning. How far do I have to stand from the sink so that the water doesn't splash all over the place. Or. Or also, I guess is I have to think about the order of these steps. Right. And so in the beginning, it's really, really hard. I have to step up on this kid's step. I have to moderate how far I'm away from the sink. What do I do first? Turn on the faucet, maybe. Get the soap manage that. And now I have to rinse. I have to keep rinsing until it's all off my hands, the front, the back, the wrists, all of it. There's a lot of processing motor processing. And thinking processing. So your toddler has to do things slowly in the beginning and awkwardly in the beginning until his brain. Picks up on the steps. And your little one has to constantly adjust what he's doing. Based on feedback. Do I rent a little bit more? Do I get closer to the sink? Did I turn the faucet all the way off? So little ones are learning. How to do each and every step. And so they need to pay attention to the process. We, I think us grownups we've been doing it for 30 years, 50 years. Um, teen years, we think everybody. Even if they're 18 months old. You know how to wash your hands. You've done it. They haven't. Been thinking through the motor planning, right. But with support with guidance, he or she will eventually do it on their own. Right. But that's just an example, a small little example, motor planning. Is also important in speech and articulation. It hats, the physical part. Of talking. The other side of this coin is the language processing, the receptive part. And we will get to that as well because of the vestibular system is part of that neurological development. So speech requires that your child, move an unbelievable number of tiny, tiny, tiny muscles. And then coordinate these muscles into movement patterns. Each and every time one single word is produced, whether it's cat. Or puppy. Or water. Or truck? our vocal apparatus, our lips or tongue or teeth. The roof of our mouth, the hard palate, the soft palate, the laryngeal area, right? The vocal box, the vocal folds. all of these muscles need to work together, the cheeks, the jaw, and the respiratory system. So from our diaphragm up. It takes about a hundred muscles to speak. Yup. You heard that right? 100 muscles. To coordinate. And plan and time. So we can string a bunch of sounds together into words. And then string words together into sentences and then string sentences into stories or conversation. Right. So what if your little one can't adequately process information related to the muscle movements? It's possible that that difficulty, that challenge with muscle movement. Planning and organization. Then manifests into what we call a speech disorder. And so, you know, in my field, I might call it apraxia of speech or articulation disorder, right? Depending on the severity, depending on where the breakdown is. And that's not important here in this conversation, what's important is to understand that. Kids don't really have a speech disorder. That's a symptom of what's going on underneath. So that's key here. And so that's why I'm trying to now in this phase, in my life, get ahead of it and help moms and dads and families. Of all forms. Figure out how to navigate this development. Through everyday life. And to really nurture that, take the science and the art of parenthood. And nurture him or her successfully with, with great play skills and eating skills and speech and language skills. So the second part of this, of the vestibular system. Is related to language processing or receptive language. And what that means is that I'm sure you're probably aware that your child's auditory system, his hearing. Is involved with his ability to learn how to listen with you. Or listen to you, right? But that's not the only piece. When it comes to receptive language. The vestibular system works with your child's auditory system. And so they're all closely related in the head and the skull there. Right. The inner ear. Is the middle ear, right? It's in, um, closer to the midline of the brain, right in the auditory system. Is wrapped right around the ears. Make sense? Right? Because you're taking sounds into those beautiful little ears. And processing the data. So. Why is the vestibular system and the auditory. Canal or the auditory system working so closely together. It's because not only does he need to hear the words. When you speak to him, but he then needs to determine where the words are coming from. Is it to the right of me. Is it to the left to me? Is that person talking to me? and are they in front of me? Are they behind me? Are they around the corner? Are they upstairs in the hallway and I can hear noise, but I'm not quite sure where it's coming from. And then they have to process. Who's producing that speech. Right. Do I recognize that voice is that mom's voice? Is that dad's voice? Is that my brother's voice? Is it familiar or is it brand new and they're using my name. And then he needs to focus on the words themselves and process that meaning. Right. So there's a lot of environmental factors that can impact his ability. To orient and understand That spoken language to him, right. And so if he's unable to do any of these things, he'll show difficulties. And following directions or understanding questions or responding to his name. You know, many, many teachers, whether the child is two or four or 10 they'll often say, you know, I talked to him and he doesn't respond. Well, are you talking to him from across the room? You know that's a different skill set than if you're. standing right in front of them or if you're face-to-face with him. Right. And so later on some of these unnoticed or undiagnosed. Vestibular problems or inner ear problems. Might then manifest as conversational issues that they not, they don't have good social conversational skills and that their processing is quote, unquote, slow. And that's why. It's really important that people in my industry. really look at chronic ear infections or even chronic fluid in the middle ear because that can disrupt. That delicate balance of all of these mechanisms inside our in her ear. and when I'm talking about the inner ear, I mean, these are teeny tiny, teeny, tiny processing. So the vestibular system or the inner ear is responsible for balance proprioception. And our sense of orientation. So someone's talking to me and can I orient that in the room? I once took this auditory class. I'll never forget this. And it was in a big, Auditorium and we had to put wax. Over the counter wax in one of our ears. And take a test. Well, listen to a lecture and then take a test. and it was so disturbing to have just one ear. One auditory canal work. And I was so disoriented. I was so uncomfortable. And you know, the vast majority is like 85% of us just failed the test. I mean, it was, an experiment, To have intermittent. fluid in your ear or ear infections. Again, our kids aren't aware of what's normal or healthy. Or clear versus what's not. And so when we talk about this delicate balance. They're not aware. They think everybody hears, like they're hearing like they have water in their ears. And that's just not true. And it's really interfering with everything across the board. Right. And. I'm talking about the vestibular system today and the, the final of the eight sensory systems would be the proprioceptive. And I haven't really talked much about that, but that's the sense. That lets us perceive our location, movement in space and the actions of our body. Right. And so it includes, Your joint position, like, am I sitting upright in this chair? Can I hold myself up at, or can I reach across and how much effort do I need to pick up the glass of water? So that's propioceptive and we can talk about that another time and how that fits into language processing and speech production, but the middle ear. can lead to all kinds of things, getting out of whack. And so it's very, very important. And I've talked about this in previous episodes that some of the symptoms that can Jest is that, chronic nasal congestion, right? A chronic cough, open mouth breathing. all of these things are symptoms telling us that something's off in the, the reps, Story system, but also in the sinuses that are so close to. To that inner ear and it's really really easy to get fluid Backed up in there in the what we call it the eustachian tubes And maybe unfortunately some of you have already had to deal with that So now let's put this all together. We can target speech and language development while engaging your child in movement activities. So the vestibular system will support gross motor and fine motor and speech and language. So I'm going to share three of my favorites. Yes, they're classics. But through them, I'll demonstrate how you can positively support speech and language development. When there, you know, 16 months, 18, 20, and beyond right. Or 20 months. So it targets and builds attention skills, social engagement, which I'm always talking about here. That that needs to be in place before speaking and talking. Processing speed. It acts exercises that network integration, coordination, memory organization, the whole gamut by the simple classic movement games that you're all familiar with. You're not going to be surprised, but. You'll be enlightened to know how important they are. So. The first one is ring around the Rosie and you're like, what? Yeah. This age old movement game is consistently a hit with all children that I've ever worked with. Uh, including my own, but, um, especially when I would go into a daycare or preschool setting. And to tell you the truth. I was quite surprised often. That. Few teachers really understood the significance of any of these movement games, but especially ring around the Rosie. So. If a classroom is kind of out of sorts or if they're in the middle of a transition and the kids are just not doing what we want them to do. Um, I would just co start doing ring around the Rosie with one or two children and they would all follow suit. It was a great way to get them. Engaged attentive. And eager to be with you and directed in a group activity for fun. Right? So the circular rotating. And the silly falling down. Is just really good motor input and that your child's brain is wiring that and it, and especially at these young ages, so ring around the Rosie is also perfect for this brilliant Precursor to speech and language, which is requesting. So because of its simplicity, right. You just ring around the rosy pocket, full of posy ashes ashes. We all fall down. Right. It's, it's very, very simple, but the simplicity and how quickly we all end up on the floor, laughing and engaged. It provides a toddler. No matter where they are in this growth continuum, an excellent opportunity to practice. Requesting right. So even if he's not verbal, even if he's, pre-verbal imagine you engaged with your child in one round and you're on the floor, you're laughing, you're enjoying the moment. And then you pause. And you wait. And you give them a little look. And a smile. And you raise your eyebrows. You look at him. Expectantly. Does he take your hand? And want. Or indicate again, mama, again. Maybe he vocalizes something and you know, he's trying to say, and we all fall down. Or he gestures that he wants to play again. That's requesting, that's a precursor to spoken language. So you give them the verbal. Again, you want to do it again? Let's do more. You can even support that with little baby sign language, right. Those again and more are really simple. To model, but you're always. Giving them facilitating at, with spoken language. And at the same time that the vestibular motion. Have, going around in a circle and that rolling on the ground and kicking your arms and legs and then hopping back up. You're building that wired. Internal ear system to help their vestibular organize their body in this three-dimensional world. And then over time. Your child will make a request independently. And all the while. We're wiring that vestibular system. And this works at any age, 16 months, 18 months, three years. And if you have an older cat, a three or four year old and you have. an 18 month old. It's great with multiple ages, right? Two people, five people. It's fun. Or, is that witching hours, four o'clock and everybody's about to pull out their hair, go in the backyard. You know, me changed the environment, go outside and play ring around the Rosie, or perhaps you'll play the next one, which is hokey pokey. Yep. A classic. You might remember hokey pokey from your childhood and you're thinking, oh God, I can't do that. And I assure you. When I first started working with very, very young children. Remember I told you that I never expected to work with kids. And that, I like the older population, even the geriatrics, right. The adults. And somehow I found myself working with these little, little kids and I was really uncomfortable of these movement games and being silly. Right and being goofy. I was the stiff, serious clinician. I was like, yikes. But once you try it. Once you let go of your ego. Trust me. They love it with you. Right. You're feeling really engaged with them. You're making that connection and it's a win-win. So both these nursery rhymes are these movement games actually date back way to the early 18 hundreds. And kids did it, adults did it. it was kind of a community thing. And so the hokey pokey is isolated movements. Right. We put different body parts in, And then we shake it all about. And then we spin, spin, spin once again. Because kids need this on multiple levels. So they need this vestibular input to help build their vestibular system. At the same time. It's also honing their speech and language skills, fine motor and gross motor. Right. It's a lot of brain activity and important stimulation on multiple levels and you get to do it. Over and over and over again. So there's a pattern. And your kids will then learn what to expect and yeah, we can mix it up. Right? You can put your foot in, you can put your bum in, you can put your elbow, your shoulder, one hip, one ear, you can do it. All right. You can mix it up. But the pattern of. You know, putting a body part in. Taking a body part out. Right. The key with hokey pokey is that. It's a perfect opportunity to learn imitation. And so we have babies need babies and toddlers need to request things, right? They're initiating conversation, verbal and nonverbal, and then they also need to learn imitation. And if you remember, I can't remember which episode, but it was when I talked about. imitation is a fundamental skill when it comes to speech and language development. And they have to understand and use imitation before the first words are spoken. And we know this, not a lot of speech pathologist, tease that apart and understand. And so if a child is slow to talk, they will often, oh, let's get em, imitate these words, imitate these words, imitate these words. No, let's imitate action first. So even if your child is pre-verbal right, so you have a nine month old or a 10 month old practicing imitation in a game like activity is brilliant. You know, does he follow your lead? Is he putting his hand in the circle? And then taking it out just like you. Does he shake it when you shake it and shake it all about. If he needs help, show him, give him a gentle prompt. Do it with me. Put your right hand in, put your right hand out. Put your right hand in and. Shake it all about. After a while, especially because the song is repetitive is written. On purpose, your child will then begin to imitate the actions and the lyrics. And then you have that anticipatory. Action. Right. And you shake it all. About right. And they fill in the blank. So there are multiple ways that you can. Be in the moment, no matter where they are in this developmental continuum. Right. So the third example, and remember there are all kinds of movement games. I'm just picking out three of my favorite, but this sure has always been my favorite. Is an obstacle course and you're thinking, oh, all right. How does that fit in? Well in my private practice way back when, I used to set up all kinds of obstacle courses for my clients, my little kids. Down the hallway from room to room. it taps into movement following directions, engagement, and the best part of obstacle courses. Is the versatility. So you can use it with anything that you have around the house on any given day, and then you just change it up and change it up. Encourage different actions, right. And the truth is you can just Google. Obstacle course. At home for toddlers, indoors or outdoors. Right. And you'll have all kinds. And I just put up images and you have all kinds of examples up there. And I promise you that you do not, and this is a big, not, you do not have to buy any of those big, special equipments. No, no, no, because that's. that gets boring. That's like one of these boring place sets. Right. They do it a few times. They're all like, okay, I'm done with a swing done with a slide. Been there, done that. We need change and diversity, right? So, you know, try cushions that they can crash on laundry baskets to climb over or jump in. Right. Tables that they crawl under, or I had this big. Oak coffee table in my waiting room that kids, you know, I encourage them to jump up on the table and they're like, really? I'm like, yep. This is playtime, So, you know, you gauge your home accordingly. But, a few objects like hula hoop, you can use. Or some balls, right. Or bean bags that you can toss about, cardboard boxes to crawl through. I love, love, love painters tape. You can make squares that they can step into or hop right? 1, 2, 3. Or just X marks, the spot kind of thing. Or just a straight line for your younger toddlers. And then they learn how to walk toe to heel forward and backwards. Right. And if they fall, they're not falling. Right. It's just tape on the floor. I would also use the long colored string from those lacing kits that, you know, you learn, teach kids how to lace a cardboard. You know, have a picture of a cow or something. But I would use those big string and I would take them from one end. Of the hallway. You know, or one side of the hallway to the other and the kids would have to crawl under them or step over them. All kinds of great ideas. Again, like I said, Google obstacle course at home for toddlers. You'll get all kinds of ideas and do not get sucked into feeling like you have to buy special equipment, use what you have at home and change it up. And you can have an indoor obstacle course when it's raining yucky or cold outside, and then always feel like you can go outside, right? Depending on the child. let them struggle and figure it out. again, go back to the 80 20 rule. 80% of the time, he's pretty comfortable. He's gaining confidence and then 20%. He's going to have to think he's going to have to flub and then adjust right. Help him if he needs help hold his hand to balance on the table or to step over the string that you taped across the hallway. Um, And then slowly back away. Build up his ability to execute motor movement planning on his own. Obstacle courses, give children. A chance to test themselves without getting hurt or without, you know, being discouraged. Right. It's just a fun way that you can do something over and over again. There's no winners or losers, right? Um, and remember I mentioned this earlier that your child's ability to create a plan, which is like to determine what am I going to do? And then execute. It is really, really important. And for all of this to happen effectively and smoothly. For. All of these sensory systems, the vision, the hearing, the touch, the proprioceptive, the vestibular. All of these integrative processes together, right. And that children use planning and sequencing, not just children, us human beings. We use our planning skills and sequencing skills for everything. Learning how to run. Right. Plain on the climbing frame or the, or the gym equipment outside, right. Or, or any playground? Learning how to dress themselves, learning how to eat. Well, I'm always talking about here. Right. It's, you know, he's sitting up, he sees something he wants to try to eat. He's going to steady his, his torso. Reach with his arms, grabbed with his fingers and then gracefully bring it to his mouth ultimately. Right. Learning how to talk. This is all about speech and language learning how to take turns, planning and sequencing. Oh, there are four people were taking turns. I'm waiting right now, or two more people to take their turns and then it'll be your turn. Learning how to cook, learning how to bicycle learning, how to swim. And the list goes on and on endless. But it all starts very, very, very, very young. These skills impact your child's ability to organize themselves and learn any new routine. I mean, we can always look at academics and that's what a lot of our culture pushes now, you know, do they know their colors? Do they know their numbers? Can they write their name? No, no, no. They will get there. I promise you. If you play these skills. Or if you play these games, right. And you build the skill from the bottom up. Fun movement games, such as obstacle courses, which is like my most favorite. What create chances for your kids to reflect and learn and base on how their motor plans worked or didn't, then they learn how to adjust and modify and be okay. With ma. That wasn't very good. Let's do it again. And so overall it encourages. how can I make this better or how can I improve? And then become automatic and fluid. And that's what mastery mastery with cutting your own food mastery with tying your shoe mastery with. playing an instrument. Riding a bike. So the, final, big concept here. Is remember I talked about three language skills. One was making request. The other was imitation. And then the third was just basic concepts, building basic concepts. And an obstacle course is a perfect. Context to target them, especially learning spacial concepts. And, in Instagram I get a lot of questions about, you know, how to teach specific targets. And so when, when we're building obstacle courses and we're asking them to go around the table, To go through the hula hoop to go. Under the chair. And over the cushion. These are all spatial concepts that they learn the vocabulary as they're doing it. And it gets mapped. And you and I will highlight the specific words. And then they get to do it and feel it. And learn it. And if your child needs support, then of course you support them and help them. You can play, follow the leader. You can model verbalize each and every step, break it down, hold their hand. Have them follow you. We're going to step over the basket. Right. And we do it together. And as he develops an understanding of these spatial concepts, And then you make the course harder, right? You give them three directions all at the same time. First, crawl under the table, then jump on the cushions. Last climb into the basket. Right. But in the beginning, you're going to give them step by step. Right or have him make up his own routine. We want to get from point a to point B. What's the best way. Right. But giving them directions helps build that language load. Right. And then you can also build that engagement. So if they crawl under the table, I jumped on the cushions and climb into the laundry basket. Then you're there waiting for them. And you're about to spin them around three times. That's their reward. And you're kind of rocking the, the laundry basket and you're saying. What do I do? What's what's the end. And you count one. Two. Three. Great. And you're always giving them those moments of pause. Let them anticipate, let them think. Hmm. What's next. Give them an opportunity to request or make a statement. But if you're always pushing and filling in the blanks for them, Then they're just along for the ride. But you're engaged. You're present having fun. You have these big wide eyes and your non-verbals. Communication is saying, help me out here, your, in this activity with me, let's do it together. You're rocking the laundry basket. Yep. What are we going to do? And then you spin around three times and then you tip them over and you have fun. it's a big family affair. You can do it indoors on a rainy day. You can do it outdoors. in the snow, even that would be great. But you learn to judge where your little guy or your gala's. And if you have more than two kids obstacle courses or any of these hokey pokey, Who ring around the Rosie is awesome. You'll watch them blossom. You'll watch them gain confidence. The bill engage with courage because there's no winning or losing. It's just play. And meanwhile, their speech and language is blossoming. Right. Of course you'll incorporate other kinds of play. But if your toddler is fussy or crabby or whiny, ask yourself. How much movement did we have today? Some of the experts currently are suggesting strongly. I might add. Is that kids toddlers, preschoolers school-age kids of course needs several hours of outdoor free play. And truth be told I. Agree. A thousand percent. Depending on the naps and all your other responsibilities. I get that. But. Our modern society is so, complacent, let's be real. We've gotten kind of lazy. Right. And I want you to be open to reevaluating your daily life, your daily schedule, his or her routine. Right. Uh, 15, 20 minutes of movement games with you then. It will yield an hour of free time. Right? Then they'll be willing to go off and play by themselves. Play with their blocks. Are there. Paint soar Tesat or dinosaurs or dress up or whatever. Yes, you'll always with a toddler. You're always going to have to some supervision, but. These 20 minute blocks of playtime are critical on so many levels. We're building that vestibular system, the speech and language, the social engagement, all of it. Movement games are a secret to unlocking. Speech and language potential. The fine motor movement of the articulators. Remember. We need a hundred muscles to coordinate, or we have to coordinate a hundred muscles. To produce clear speech. The vestibular system links, body movements, including jaw, tongue swallow. Air control. And balance. Right. Motor planning is required for all of these. Activities. Right. So the vestibular system helps your child's brain develop the motor planning skills necessary for engagement and learning. Receptive language is listening. But it's also spatial orientation. Who's talking to me. Where are they coming from? Now, once I orient all of that. Okay. Now I can pay attention to what are you saying? And is it important? Right, but remember, make it fun. Being engaging. Meet him or her you're a little baby toddler preschooler. Where they are and show them how to engage, how to play. And then you slowly back away. My motto here. Talk. Eat. And play every single day. And like I said earlier, If you're finding benefit, please, please share with friends and family, help me spread the word. Remember to subscribe. You don't want to miss any future episodes. I'm doing a lot of new things. Like I mentioned, help me expand. It'll be fun. Let's be bold and be courageous together. It won't necessarily, or isn't always easy. and I know that sometimes we feel like we're the only ones. But we can do it together. there's power in numbers. So I want to encourage you all to get out and start playing ring around the Rosie. But maybe before dinner or right after breakfast, make it part of your new routine. And thanks again for spending time with me. God bless. And I'll see you next week.