Why Speech Therapy Worksheets Aren’t That Great for Toddlers (And What To Do Instead)
Most people think of speech therapy as a very structured activity for children. They imagine lots of language repetition (like, “I say dog, you say dog!”), therapist-led activities, and paper worksheets. More like school than play. But, in reality, speech therapy is much more relaxed!
While there are a few special cases when we will use them, for the most part, speech therapy worksheets just aren’t that great for toddlers between the ages one and three. We don’t use them much in my practice, and if you’re looking to support your toddler’s language development at home, we wouldn’t recommend them for you either.
Keep reading for 3 reasons why we’re not big on speech therapy worksheets for toddlers, plus tips and ideas for implementing what we do recommend instead!
3 Reasons Why We Don’t Recommend Speech Therapy Worksheets for Toddlers
The reason we steer clear of worksheets for toddlers in speech therapy has less to do with the worksheets themselves and more to do with toddlers and how they develop new skills.
There are 3 super important things to know about toddlers before you start teaching them:
Toddlers need hands-on activities.
Toddlers learn best when they move.
Toddlers thrive when engaged in meaningful play.
Worksheets aren’t hands on. They don’t involve movement. And, they’re not meaningful, real-life activities. They don’t tick any of the boxes. That’s why when we work with toddlers, we use them sparingly, if at all. They aren’t what we would be considered to be age appropriate activities.
#1 Toddlers Learn Best With Hands-On Activities
Let’s imagine we are trying to teach prepositions to your child. Words like in, on, under and behind. If they were learning it with a worksheet, you might see pictures demonstrating these concepts. Like a child sitting on a chair, for example. Now, imagine them getting to play with real objects. Imagine them moving things around while practicing and learning the meaning of these words. So much more concrete and engaging, right? Not only is this method more fun for toddlers, it’s so much more advantageous for their developing brains!
#2 Toddlers Learn Better When They Move Their Bodies
According to pediatrician Vanessa Durand, “Children learn by experiencing their world using all of their senses. The restriction of movement, especially at a young age, impedes the experiential learning process.” Pretty powerful, isn’t it? And, she’s not alone in her beliefs. A 2012 study published in Frontiers in Psychology, found that movement (including gestures and actions) enhances recall and memory. And, in his book Teaching with the Brain in Mind, Eric Jensen outlines in detail what he calls the “groundswell” of information and evidence that currently links movement to cognition.
Allowing our toddlers to move around while they learn is one of the best things we can do if we want them to grasp, remember, and apply new skills!
#3 Toddlers Thrive When Engaged in Meaningful Activities
Somewhere along the line it seems like we got our wires crossed about what toddler learning really looks like, but it really is through movement and, in particular, play. In fact, play is so important to child development that many experts refer to it as a child’s work!
That’s because toddlers learn best when they participate in meaningful, real-life activities, like play and daily routines. Seemingly small moments like stopping to put on shoes, playing pretend, or digging in a garden can all provide incredibly rich opportunities for language and overall development.
Toddler Speech Therapy Is Play-Based
Because we know that toddlers need to move, engage in hands-on activities, and participate in meaningful play and routines, speech therapy is very play-based!
Toddlers need to enjoy and want to participate in speech therapy in order to achieve new speech and language goals. Plus, we know toddlers learn best while they’re moving, playing, and participating in meaningful activities. So, we make sure speech therapy is playful, engaging, and lots of fun! You’re more likely to find your speech therapist playing on the floor with your child than watching while they complete a worksheet. And it’s all very intentional.
Are Speech Therapy Worksheets Ever Helpful For Toddlers?
Yes! Speech therapy worksheets can help toddlers in certain cases. They have their place in the world. For example, if your toddler is working on articulation (saying speech sounds correctly), we may use a worksheet to guide them. (Mommy Speech Therapy has some high-quality worksheet examples available.)
But, even then, we’ll make it fun, playful, and engaging by doing things like moving a little character around to each word as they say it. Or, we’ll put a colorful pom pom on top to indicate a specific word has been said.
How To Support Your Toddler’s Language Development At Home
If you’d love to do more to encourage language development at home, the first step is tuning into the skills your toddler has already nailed down as well as the ones you can expect them to develop next. Our free language milestones checklist will help you keep track.
From there, you can use some of the ideas and resources we’ve included in our blog to come up with easy and low-prep ways to incorporate more language into your everyday life. These are some that we recommend in particular:
Just remember to keep it low-pressure! We always want communication to be a positive thing. When you go with the flow and gently encourage language, your child will learn new things and have sooo much fun being playful and making memories with you at the same time. Total parenting win-win!