What games can I use as a parent to stimulate my son's language development?
Education consultant Florence Robertson replies:
Games definitely promote language development. They enable you to build communication between your son and yourself because you have something in common to discuss. Because they are fun, games act as a stimulus for discussion as children are happy to participate in them.
There is a wide variety of games that children enjoy. Favourites among language games are I Spy, Simon Says, and Red Light and Green Light.
Simon Says is a simple game that children understand readily. It allows a child to be the leader or the participant. A parent can introduce the game by explaining that the player must follow what Simon says. If the leader says 'Simon says do this' and the leader raises his or her arms, then the player must do the same. If the leader does not say 'Simon says' but instead says 'do this', the player is out of the game if she/he performs the action.
To stay in the game the players must perform the action only if the leader says 'Simon says' to do it.
Children enjoy acting as the leader to see if they can put some of the players out of the game. It is a game that encourages discussion and children never seem to tire of it. Even if your child cannot read, always record the words that you use in the game. Eventually, your child will remember them.