Mealtimes are essential, but they can also be stressful for parents. Between picky eaters, spills, and the chaos of getting everyone fed, it’s easy to forget that these moments are also great for building your child’s language skills. By making the dinner table a place for conversation, you can help boost their communication in a fun and natural way!

Why a Child’s Language Skills at Mealtime Matters:

Language is the foundation for learning, communication, and social skills. Mealtimes are the perfect opportunity to support your child’s language development in a comfortable, familiar setting. During these shared moments, kids can learn new words, practice forming sentences, and build conversation skills naturally. Plus, talking together at meals strengthens family bonds and creates special memories!

A Step-by-Step Guide to Language-Rich Mealtimes:

Here’s a breakdown of strategies you can use to boost your child’s language skills at mealtime, tailored for different age groups:

For the Littlest Eaters (Babies and Toddlers):

- Requesting: Requesting happens when a child asks for something they want, like more food, a drink, or a utensil. By encouraging your child to express their needs using words, signs, or gestures, you can help them build confidence and strengthen their communication skills. Mealtime provides a natural setting for this practice because children are naturally motivated to ask for what they want.
  - Step 1:If your child isn’t talking yet, model the word or sign for them.
  - Step 2: Pause and wait to give them a chance to communicate.
  - Step 3: Use excitement and praise to encourage their efforts.
  - Step 4: Keep requests simple at first (e.g., “milk,” “more, please”) and build up to longer phrases. Using the time of the desired item is best. For example, “milk,” “cheese,” “cracker.” Adding please and thank you is perfect once your child has a base vocabulary established.
    - A Scripted Example:
      - Parent: (Holds a bowl of grapes but doesn’t immediately give any to the child.) “Oh, I have some grapes! Would you like some?”
      - Child: (Reaches for the grapes but doesn’t say anything.)
      - Parent: (Encourages verbal or nonverbal communication.) “I see you want grapes! You can say, ‘grapes’ or sign ‘eat.’”
      - Child: (Attempts to say ‘grapes’ or signs ‘eat.’)
      - Parent: (Smiling and reinforcing the request.) “Great job asking! Here you go—some yummy grapes!” (Hands a few grapes to the child.)
      - Parent: (After the child eats a few grapes and seems to want more.) “I think you want more! What can you say?”
      - Child: (Says ‘more grapes’ or gestures again.)
      - Parent: “Nice asking! Here’s some more grapes!”
- Label Everything: As you prepare and serve food, name each item. “Here’s your apple slices. This is a green bean. Let’s put some yogurt on your spoon.” This builds vocabulary and connects words to real objects.
  - Step 1: Clearly name the food. “Banana.”
  - Step 2: Describe its properties. “A yellow banana. A soft banana.”
  - Step 3: Use simple sentences. “You’re eating a banana.”
- Talk About Textures and Tastes: Engage their senses by discussing the food’s texture, taste, and smell. “Is it crunchy? Is it sweet? Does it smell yummy?” This expands their descriptive vocabulary.
  - Step 1: Ask open-ended questions. “How does it taste?”
  - Step 2: Offer descriptive words. “Is it smooth? Is it spicy?”
  - Step 3: Encourage them to describe the food in their own words.
- Use Sign Language: Introduce simple signs for common food items like “more,” “eat,” and “drink.” This supports communication before verbal skills fully develop.
- ASL Video Dictionary
  - Step 1: Choose a few basic signs.
  - Step 2: Use the signs consistently during mealtimes.
  - Step 3: Encourage your child to use the signs.
    - Scripted Example One:
      - Parent: (Holding a cup but not giving it to the child right away.) “I see you want your milk!” (Signs ‘milk’ by opening and closing their fist, like milking a cow.) “Can you say or sign milk?”
      - Child: (Attempts to sign ‘milk’ or reaches for the cup.)
      - Parent: (Encouraging and reinforcing.) “Great job! Here’s your milk!” (Hands the cup to the child.)
    - Script Example Two:
      - Parent: (Holding a spoonful of food.) “Do you want more?” (Signs ‘more’ by bringing fingertips together on both hands and tapping them together.) “You can say or sign more!”
      - Child: (Attempts to sign ‘more’ or says the word.)
      - Parent: “Nice asking! Here’s more food!” (Gives the child another bite.)
    - Script Example Three:
      - Parent: (Pointing to different foods on the plate.) “This is a banana!” (Signs ‘banana’ by using one finger to peel an imaginary banana.) “Do you want a banana?”
      - Child: (Attempts to sign or say ‘banana.’)
        
        Parent: “Wow, great signing! Here’s your banana!”
        
        Key ASL Signs for Mealtime:
        
        Milk 🥛: Open and close your fist like milking a cow.
        
        More ✋✋: Tap fingertips of both hands together.
        
        Eat 🍽️: Bring fingertips to lips, like bringing food to your mouth.
        
        Drink 🥤: Make a ‘C’ shape with your hand and bring it to your mouth like drinking from a cup.
        
        All Done 🙌: Open hands, palms facing out, and twist them back and forth.
        
        Banana 🍌: Use one finger to peel an imaginary banana.

“What’s on Your Plate?” Game: The What’s on the Plate? game is a fun and easy way to help your child learn new words, describe objects, and build conversation skills during mealtime. This game encourages kids to use their senses—sight, touch, taste, and smell—to talk about their food in a playful and engaging way.
- Step 1: Each person describes the food on their plate.
- Step 2: Use descriptive words for color, shape, and texture.
- Step 3: Take turns guessing what each person has.
  - Script Example:
    - Parent: “Let’s play a game called What’s on the Plate? I’ll give you clues, and you try to guess what food I’m thinking of!”
    - Parent: “This food is orange, crunchy, and rabbits love to eat it. What do you think it is?”
    - Child: “A carrot!”
    - Parent: “That’s right! Carrots are crunchy and orange. Can you think of another food that’s crunchy?”
    - Child: “Apples!”
    - Parent: “Great thinking! Apples can be crunchy too. Now it’s your turn to describe a food, and I’ll guess!”
- Variations of the Game:

🔹 Mystery Bite: Have your child close their eyes, take a small bite of food, and describe how it tastes and feels before guessing what it is.
🔹 Color Hunt: Ask, “Can you find something red on your plate? What is it?”
🔹 Opposites Challenge: Talk about food textures using opposites like crunchy/soft, hot/cold, sweet/sour.
🔹 Silly Descriptions: Make funny comparisons, like “This broccoli looks like a tiny tree! What else does it look like?”

Storytelling with Food: Turning mealtime into a storytelling adventure is a fun way to boost your child’s language skills, creativity, and imagination! In Story Time with Food, your child will use the food on their plate to help create a story, encouraging them to think critically, describe objects, and build sentences in a playful way.
- Step 1: Choose a food item as the starting point.
- Step 2: Create a simple story around it.
- Step 3: Encourage your child to add to the story.
  - Script Example:
    - Parent: “Let’s play a game called Story Time with Food! We’re going to make up a silly story using the food on our plates. I’ll start, and then you can add to it!”
    - Parent: “Once upon a time, a tiny green pea rolled off the plate and went on an adventure. Where do you think it went?”
    - Child: “It rolled under the table!”
    - Parent: “Oh no! Under the table, the pea met a big, crunchy carrot. What do you think they said to each other?”
    - Child: “The carrot said, ‘Let’s go to the spaghetti mountain!’”
    - Parent: “That’s a great idea! The pea and carrot climbed Spaghetti Mountain, but when they got to the top, they saw a lake of tomato sauce! What happened next?”
    - Child: “They jumped in and turned red!”
    - Parent: “Wow! They must have looked so funny! Then they saw a giant breadstick boat floating by… should they hop on?”
    - (Continue the story by taking turns adding details!)
- Ways to Make the Game More Fun:

🔹 Use Descriptive Language: Encourage your child to describe colors, textures, and shapes of the foods in the story. (“Was the spaghetti mountain soft or crunchy?”)
🔹 Encourage Problem-Solving: Ask questions like, “Oh no! The pea is stuck in the sauce. How can it get out?”
🔹 Add Characters: Pretend the fork, spoon, or napkin are characters in the story too!
🔹 Act It Out: Let your child move their food around the plate to act out different parts of the story.

Ask Open-Ended Questions: Open-ended questions help children expand their thoughts, use longer sentences, and express themselves in more detail. Unlike yes-or-no questions, open-ended questions encourage conversation and critical thinking. Here’s a step-by-step script to guide parents in using open-ended questions during mealtime.
- Step 1: Ask questions that require more than a “yes” or “no” answer.
- Step 2: Encourage your child to explain their thoughts and feelings.
- Step 3: Listen attentively and ask follow-up questions.
  - Script Example:
    - Parent: “Let’s talk about our day! What was the most fun thing you did today?”
    - Child: “Played outside.”
    - Parent: “Oh, that sounds fun! What did you play?”
    - Child: “I played tag with my friends.”
    - Parent: “Tag is a great game! Who was the fastest runner?”
    - Child: “I think it was Jake!”
    - Parent: “Wow! What made Jake so fast?”
    - Child: “He took big steps and ran super quick!”