So, What About a Solution?

We talked about the speech and developmental delays pandemic babies/toddlers are now facing, but what can you actually do to help?

I found this article/blog written by Abigail A. Allen, on the same site I found a previous blog talking about pandemic babies and developmental delays.

The most shocking statistic, at least to me, is "children born during the pandemic are at nearly twice the risk for developmental delays."

Let me say that again, TWICE the risk.

So needless to say, as a parent I needed to find out what I could do to help my son.

5 Ways You Can Help According to the Expert

1) Get Children Talking

• Adults can create opportunities to talk, which helps children develop the ability to communicate and interact with others.

2) Expand on Children's Speech

• One way to provide rich language is by responding to what the child says and then adding on details or adjectives.

3) Be a Warm and Attentive Conversation Partner

• Being a supportive partner means following the child’s lead and not always telling the child what to do.

4) Share a Book

• Children who participate in frequent shared book reading have larger vocabularies, use more complex language and have better reading comprehension in later grades.

5) Talk About Words

• Help children develop a better awareness of the connection between words and how they sound.

Source: Pandemic Babies Are Facing Speech and Developmental Delays. 5 Ways to Help.

What I'm Doing.

I've been working with a free state program called "Help Me Grow" for over a year. We've had numerous virtual sessions, along with my husband and working with him one-on-one.

Recently, we've ramped up our one-on-one sessions and have really tried to almost force him to use his words rather than show us what he wants.

My son tends to gravitate to me when it comes to conversing more than my husband. I'm not sure why exactly, but maybe he feels I can understand what he wants more often? I just try to be patient, understanding and talk him through the process.

As of recent weeks, it seems to really be helping him communicate more.

Connect with me!

Please, feel free to reach out to me on social or email. I would love to hear your stories, share your stories on this platform, but also do the research and ask experts what we can do to give our kids the best future possible.