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Small Talk: How to Develop Your Child's Language Skills from Birth to Age Four
Go beyond “goo goo ga ga” to boost brain power from birth!
You are your child’s most valuable resource when it comes to learning to talk and now with Small Talk you can provide your child with the best head start by encouraging language and vocabulary development early on.
Speech and language therapist Nicola Lathey and child development writer Tracey Blake make it easy to give your child the gift of conversation. In Small Talk, they demystify the six stages of language learning, from “Pre-Babble” to “Complete Sentences,” so you can tune in to what your child is saying—or trying to say! In this book, you’ll learn:
Why the babbling stage is so important How to encourage your baby’s first words Communication techniques to calm your toddler’s tantrums The truth about pacifiers, baby signing, and the impact of TV on language development Tips on how to get the most out of reading bedtime stories, and much more.
You can expand your child’s language skills by setting aside as few as 10 minutes every day for Small Talk Time. With 50 games and activities to choose from, it’s time to start Small Talking!
You are your child’s most valuable resource when it comes to learning to talk and now with Small Talk you can provide your child with the best head start by encouraging language and vocabulary development early on.
Speech and language therapist Nicola Lathey and child development writer Tracey Blake make it easy to give your child the gift of conversation. In Small Talk, they demystify the six stages of language learning, from “Pre-Babble” to “Complete Sentences,” so you can tune in to what your child is saying—or trying to say! In this book, you’ll learn:
Why the babbling stage is so important How to encourage your baby’s first words Communication techniques to calm your toddler’s tantrums The truth about pacifiers, baby signing, and the impact of TV on language development Tips on how to get the most out of reading bedtime stories, and much more.
You can expand your child’s language skills by setting aside as few as 10 minutes every day for Small Talk Time. With 50 games and activities to choose from, it’s time to start Small Talking!
336 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2013
31 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 26, 2020
I was flipping through and nodding my head with bits and pieces that I read. Then I got to part about girl vs boy differences, and it became quickly obvious that the authors aren’t the experts they claim to be. Speech therapists, sure, (or one of them is) but they don’t understand basic principles of research, psychology, and child development.
For instance, even though the authors acknowledge psychologists have show that people’s *perceptions* of gender lead to differences in development, they continue on to emphasize this is more due to biological differences as girls are are more advanced then boys. Big eye roll. “Boys are generally born heavier [...], girls develop fine motor coordination more readily, these subtle psychological differences mean that boys and girls will usually choose to play in different ways and with different toys.”
Um. No. Wrong. All babies are interested in whichever toy is put in front of them. ESPECIALLY if you interact with it as well and show them how to interact. Justifying your sexism with scientific language is just bullshit.
And then the section ends with the following, highlighted in a square box:
“It’s a Fact - Girls like Dolls and Boys like Cars
Research suggests that girls play with dolls because they’re programmed to, not because of any sexual stereotyping. Richard Wrangham of Harvard University found that young male and female chimpanzees in the wild both play with sticks, but that girl chimps treat sticks like dolls, copying their mothers as they care for infants.”
Okay. This example disproves itself. No, boys and girls are not genetically programmed to like one toy over another. According to the example they provided, they are socially encouraged to prefer gender-specific objects based on copying their parents. Monkey see, monkey do.
And stating as FACT that Girls like Dolls and Boys Cars is practically the definition of sexual stereotyping.
Flipped to the back to read author bios and realized that one of them writes for the Daily Mail. .. yeah. Enough said.
For instance, even though the authors acknowledge psychologists have show that people’s *perceptions* of gender lead to differences in development, they continue on to emphasize this is more due to biological differences as girls are are more advanced then boys. Big eye roll. “Boys are generally born heavier [...], girls develop fine motor coordination more readily, these subtle psychological differences mean that boys and girls will usually choose to play in different ways and with different toys.”
Um. No. Wrong. All babies are interested in whichever toy is put in front of them. ESPECIALLY if you interact with it as well and show them how to interact. Justifying your sexism with scientific language is just bullshit.
And then the section ends with the following, highlighted in a square box:
“It’s a Fact - Girls like Dolls and Boys like Cars
Research suggests that girls play with dolls because they’re programmed to, not because of any sexual stereotyping. Richard Wrangham of Harvard University found that young male and female chimpanzees in the wild both play with sticks, but that girl chimps treat sticks like dolls, copying their mothers as they care for infants.”
Okay. This example disproves itself. No, boys and girls are not genetically programmed to like one toy over another. According to the example they provided, they are socially encouraged to prefer gender-specific objects based on copying their parents. Monkey see, monkey do.
And stating as FACT that Girls like Dolls and Boys Cars is practically the definition of sexual stereotyping.
Flipped to the back to read author bios and realized that one of them writes for the Daily Mail. .. yeah. Enough said.
March 26, 2014
We all know language is important. I didn't know of the study linking the number of words heard by under 3s to IQ and school performance, but the explanation seems both logical and obvious once it's pointed out.
Small Talk fulfills its stated purpose very well: to help you identify what's going on with your child's communication and to show you how to encourage the natural stages of language. Each chapter includes games, tips, ideas and activities for ways to help your child at his/her current stage and to encourage imaginative verbal development, as well as "Small Talk Time" tips for instant inspiration and a Milestones section at the end of each chapter. (And unlike many parenting books, this one makes it clear how many children will probably reach each milestone at this stage in development, and what's part of the normal curve.)
It's not just about talking either. There are games, songs, rhymes, and even explanations how to enable a small child to understand the difference between creative stories and truth, and to encourage good listening in a child. (This last applies to any age, I believe!)
The most important technique, and one which is repeatedly mentioned, is "Say What You See". Many parents - including myself - find themselves doing this automatically, but now I actually understand what it does and why it's necessary. This is just one of many fascinating explanations I found for familiar concepts.
Each chapter includes good, specific examples of each concept and stage. Metaphors are clear and easy to visualize (especially the Language Tree). The tips and parental actions are easy and fun to do, and there is logical progression from "This is what your child is doing now" to "Encourage more X by doing Y". Difficult sounds are mentioned at each stage, so you can tell what's normal and how to help your child master a tricky sound, and another age-based section to help decide when your child would need a speech or language therapist, followed by a list of resources and good books for parents and children.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Small Talk fulfills its stated purpose very well: to help you identify what's going on with your child's communication and to show you how to encourage the natural stages of language. Each chapter includes games, tips, ideas and activities for ways to help your child at his/her current stage and to encourage imaginative verbal development, as well as "Small Talk Time" tips for instant inspiration and a Milestones section at the end of each chapter. (And unlike many parenting books, this one makes it clear how many children will probably reach each milestone at this stage in development, and what's part of the normal curve.)
It's not just about talking either. There are games, songs, rhymes, and even explanations how to enable a small child to understand the difference between creative stories and truth, and to encourage good listening in a child. (This last applies to any age, I believe!)
The most important technique, and one which is repeatedly mentioned, is "Say What You See". Many parents - including myself - find themselves doing this automatically, but now I actually understand what it does and why it's necessary. This is just one of many fascinating explanations I found for familiar concepts.
Each chapter includes good, specific examples of each concept and stage. Metaphors are clear and easy to visualize (especially the Language Tree). The tips and parental actions are easy and fun to do, and there is logical progression from "This is what your child is doing now" to "Encourage more X by doing Y". Difficult sounds are mentioned at each stage, so you can tell what's normal and how to help your child master a tricky sound, and another age-based section to help decide when your child would need a speech or language therapist, followed by a list of resources and good books for parents and children.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
February 12, 2014
(disclaimer: I got this for free from Netgalley)
Small Talk is an informative read for anyone who wants to understand how infants pick up language. Holding a degree in linguistics, I have to give props to the author, a fellow linguist, for including more technical details about the cognitive process in learning and grouping sounds. Don't let that scare you away though, because it's all very readable for those who aren't exited about phoneme groupings.
What I really liked about this book are the sections about age-appropriate games and activities to play that enhance communication ability. The games are divided up by age from infant-age to toddler-age. As a parent who's easily bored of games to entertain a baby with, this added a few more things to my repertoire.
I know that kids will learn to talk on their own time, but as an engineer and a linguist, I can't help but be interested in aiding the process along.
Small Talk is an informative read for anyone who wants to understand how infants pick up language. Holding a degree in linguistics, I have to give props to the author, a fellow linguist, for including more technical details about the cognitive process in learning and grouping sounds. Don't let that scare you away though, because it's all very readable for those who aren't exited about phoneme groupings.
What I really liked about this book are the sections about age-appropriate games and activities to play that enhance communication ability. The games are divided up by age from infant-age to toddler-age. As a parent who's easily bored of games to entertain a baby with, this added a few more things to my repertoire.
I know that kids will learn to talk on their own time, but as an engineer and a linguist, I can't help but be interested in aiding the process along.
April 22, 2016
This book explains how babies develop speech and language and age appropriate speech-language milestones from 0 to 4 years old.
When to read: Read the age appropriate chapters, along with your growing baby.
There are age wise activity recommendations to enhance your baby's speech and language development. The activities are fun and easy to do at home.
The " when to start solids" information is inaccurate and outdated. Wanting to breastfeed frequently, waking at night are all normal for babies and not a sign that solids need to be started.
Overall, a great book with many helpful tips and tricks. A must read for parents of children aged 0 to 4 years old.
When to read: Read the age appropriate chapters, along with your growing baby.
There are age wise activity recommendations to enhance your baby's speech and language development. The activities are fun and easy to do at home.
The " when to start solids" information is inaccurate and outdated. Wanting to breastfeed frequently, waking at night are all normal for babies and not a sign that solids need to be started.
Overall, a great book with many helpful tips and tricks. A must read for parents of children aged 0 to 4 years old.
October 18, 2020
Written by two authors neither of whom are doctors and one of whom is simply a journalist. Not evidence based and full of personal theories, most egregious is the authors conviction that giving night time bottles inhibit speech (there is no evidence for this). In short I dont recommend as I dont trust the authors as being qualified.
November 7, 2025
Very informative but quite dense. There are many extremely detailed examples of games to play with your child. In the first chapters it was like, yeah I can see this being helpful, but in the last chapter or two it all seemed pretty unnecessarily extra unless your kid was having a real problem. Like most of time, kids figure out how to correctly say certain sounds on their own, right? She gives all this advice and then at the end is like, don’t worry about it. What I do know is that it was very interesting to read about the process of how language develops in children, including all the foundational stuff that must exist first that you might not think about (eg, listening, turn taking). One star off bc the chapter about weaning was totally unnecessary (not why I’m reading this book) and every time she acknowledges the reader is a parent, she writes like it’s definitely a mom. Don’t dads teach their kids to speak as well? It just annoyed me.
August 14, 2025
I started to read this book to help my child develop language, but I found that there are a lot of statements made that don’t necessarily have evidence to support. For example, when talking about pointing she mentions that we are the only ones that point even when animals are raised in captivity, but this is not true. There are several studies that show apes learn to point in captivity for communication with their human counterparts. There are also a lot of stereotypes that the author tries to justify with science. I was not a fan of this.
March 20, 2019
Excellent book on language developmental in infants and toddlers
July 31, 2016
A good layperson's book that breaks down basic facts and advice that are vital to language development.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews