Singing for Speech and Language Development: Verbal Routines and Greetings

Singing is such a powerful tool in so many areas of life. There are myriad benefits of singing: from group singing and social bonds to the effect of singing on memory in people with dementia, and so many more. It’s no surprise, then, that singing helps people of all ages access language. As someone who loves to sing and is a mom and pediatric speech therapist, I sing with babies and toddlers A LOT. Here’s how I use singing, and teach caregivers to use singing, to help little ones develop communication skills.

Verbal Routines

Narrating routines out loud is one of the first strategies speech therapists teach parents to use at home because it helps babies learn language. Imagine how much more language they hear when we talk through the routines of our day as opposed to silently doing them! This can seem a little silly sometimes, but it’s a great habit to get into.

Here are some examples of what you might say when your baby wakes up in the morning (after you’ve had your coffee, of course):

“Good morning! It’s time to wake up! Let’s change your diaper. I’m taking off your jammies. Open your diaper and wipe, wipe, wipe. You need a new diaper. Ok, now we zip your clothes uhhhhhhh-p. You’re all clean! It’s time to eat.”

And so on…

Now, put those phrases to a melody and repeat them in a song of sorts.

If you’re like me, you’re singing “Good Morning” from Singin’ in the Rain.

Maybe you’re singing “eat, eat, eat” set to the NBC chimes.

One melody I use over and over is Row, Row, Row Your Boat. I sing it when we go up or down the stairs, when washing hands, when doing just about ANYTHING.

• “Up up up the stairs, up the stairs we go, up up up the stairs, up the stairs we go.” Sing it every time you go up or down stairs, and just like that, you’re teaching your child the prepositions UP and DOWN and the verb GO.

• “Wash wash wash your hands, make them nice and clean, wash wash wash your hands, make them nice and clean.” You’re teaching language AND a hygiene routine at once.

Another common melody is This is the Way. Add any routine onto the end of this song!

• “This is the way we brush our teeth, brush our teeth, brush our teeth, this is the way we brush our teeth early in the morning.”

These songs are repetitive and simple, yet so effective.

Greetings

We can teach waving and the words “hi” and “bye” through song!

At the beginning and end of all my baby and toddler classes and my individual speech therapy sessions, I sing, “hello [name], hello [name], hello [name], it’s time to wave/say…” and then give an expectant pause. I wait 5 seconds and allow the child to use their form of communication as a fill-in. Then, I say “hi” or “bye” with a wave, either as a model for the child or in imitation of the child.

When you’re singing this to five or six kids in a group, that’s so many opportunities to hear and see you model greeting words and gestures!

Read the next post for tips on singing Nursery Rhymes and Preschool Songs with your little one!