Use your toddler’s fascination with touching things to teach language skills

Does it seem like your busy toddler has their hands on everything these days? Their interest in touching things develops their fine motor skills and may also help them learn new words at the same time ❤️

Introduce vocabulary as your toddler handles an object

Studies find that labeling an object as your child handles it can help them connect what they have in their hands to the words you say. Speech experts call these “right label at the right time” moments.

1. Name the object in their hands: “That’s a colander. It has so many holes!”
2. Narrate what they do with it: “You’re poking the pipe cleaners through the holes in the colander. Poke, poke, poke!”
3. Describe the object: Talk about the size, weight, shape, texture, or color of the object. “The colander is made of metal. Oh, it’s big and heavy!” 

Look for opportunities to connect language to what your toddler wants to touch

Make a nature sensory bin. Head outside with a small bin and help your toddler collect leaves, stones, sticks, flowers, or whatever else interests them. Introduce new words as you and your toddler explore the objects together: “Look at this pinecone. It feels rough and uneven. Wow, this flower petal is so smooth.” 

Experiment with kitchen tools. Gather a colander, muffin tin, whisk, silicone brush, measuring spoons, or other child-safe kitchen tools. Place them in a container with a bowl of dried lentils. Name each tool and talk about how your toddler uses it as they play: ”You’re stirring the lentils with the whisk.” When your toddler is finished playing, the lentils can be rinsed and cooked, so nothing goes to waste.

Squeeze things in the bath. Mix up bath time by providing tools, like a clean, empty squeeze bottle, sponge, and turkey baster, for your toddler to explore with their hands. As your child handles each object, you can describe how they use it and how it may feel—-for example, “The sponge is squishy” or “The bottle is slippery.”

Note: Please supervise your toddler closely at all times around water, as they can drown in less than 1 inch of water. Small objects can become choking hazards, so keep a close watch whenever your child handles them. 

Learn more about the research

Iverson, J. M. (2010). Developing language in a developing body: The relationship between motor development and language development. Journal of Child Language, 37(2), 229-261.

West, K. L., & Iverson, J. M. (2017). Language learning is hands-on: Exploring links between infants’ object manipulation and verbal input. Cognitive Development, 43, 190-200.

Schroer, S. E., & Yu, C. (2023). Looking is not enough: Multimodal attention supports the real‐time learning of new words. Developmental Science, 26(2), e13290.