Today’s blog post features our 2-3-year-old gift guide. Another huge language growth occurs during this period of life. At 2, toddlers should be around 50% intelligible, adding new words frequently to their vocabulary, and combining words together. By 3, toddlers use pronouns (you, I, me, she, he, they), answer and ask a variety of questions, and begin to use plurals (i.e. “shoes”) and past tense (i.e. “jumped”). A 3-year-old is expected to be around 75% intelligible and have the speech sounds /p, b, b, d, n, h, t, k, g, w, ng, f, y/ mastered.

The items are listed below, along with a brief description on how to encourage speech and language skills. Please enjoy today’s post and be on the lookout for our Preschool Aged gift guide soon!

The following includes OWLS Therapy Amazon Affiliate links.

LITTLE TIKES CAR

A little car is a fun way to incorporate movement into play! Create a chalk “road” outside on the driveway or a driving course inside your home- filled with stop signs, trees, street lights and more! The language opportunities are endless!

ANIMAL FARM

Animal farms are a wonderful toy to encourage play and language skills! Toddlers can make animal sounds, take care of the animals, or describe what they are doing.

PULL BACK Cars

A favorite! Not only do these cars pull back, but they drive back and forth! They are great for hand eye coordination and visual development. Toddlers can make choices for color, describe the cars and what happened, or narrate what they will do next. Travel friendly, too!

ALL better look

This line of books is truly wonderful, as the reusable stickers make for an interactive and exciting experience. Expressive vocabulary, expanding language utterances, and asking and answering wh-questions can be incorporated while reading, such as “where does the Band-Aid go?”. In addition, early prediction skills can be encouraged, such as “I wonder what will happen next!”.

BLOCKS

A fun set of blocks that encourages problem solving, imaginative thinking, and fine motor skills. Plus, the storage bag makes for easy clean-up!

ICE CREAM SCOOP

A set perfect for pretend play! Toddlers can take an order, scoop, and serve the ice cream, encouraging receptive, expressive, and pragmatic language skills.

MR. Potatoe head

A classic! Mr. Potato Head can be used to encourage following directions, descriptive language, and learning body parts. Once the creation is built, Mr. Potato Head can do all sorts of silly things- like order ice cream or take a ride in the Little Tikes Car! So many languages and play opportunities!

HYDROFLASK

Stocking stuffer idea! A great on-the-go cup for little hands.

Busy Car Book

Wow- are these books loved! Each book within the Usborne “Pull-Back” Board line has 4 scenes, or board pages, with tracks that the item can drive on. Turn-taking, descriptive language, asking and answering wh-questions, and fine motor skills can all be encouraged with these books! The perfect gift for any little vehicle lover!

FISHER PRICE – LITTLE PEOPLE SET

An updated version to a classic toy filled with interactive sounds and music! A doll house is a wonderful toy to stimulate language development and pretend play with daily routines, such as putting the people to bed or cooking and eating dinner.

About the Author

Janene Besch

Director/Speech-Language Pathologist

Janene Besch, née Martin, holds a Master’s degree in Speech Language and Hearing Sciences from San Diego State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of California at San Diego. Janene is a member of the American Academy of Private Practice in Speech Pathology
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