It is always exciting to hear your toddler mumble their first words. However, it also means that they are ready to start learning their first words. This is where new parents might hit a rock about what they should teach their child. Most parents pick random words to teach their toddlers. At KooBits, we believe that starting with a solid set of words to learn will help your toddle develop a better grasp of the English language.

We start by first developing groups or categories of words that describe a common element. Such groupings will help toddlers develop understanding of some of the most used terms in our language. With the categories set, we then decide on the words within each group.  We make sure that the words selected covered from A to Z so that the child can practice their pronunciation.

The basic grouping that we recommend is the following:

– Animals
– Vegetables and Fruits
– Shapes
– Colors
– Vehicles
– Common Words around us

By mastering the words within each of these category, your child will be equipped with the basic vocabulary for a toddler.

Best way to teach toddlers words

Knowing the list of words to teach your toddle is only the first step. The next is actually getting them to learn.  Most will probably use a book or just repeat the words to the child. However, it will be more effective if the toddle actually enjoys the experience and becomes motivated to learn on their own.

One of the ways to do this is to use a small reward system to motivate their learning. The rewards need not be anything physical. It can simply a clap of approval, a hug from you or anything that the toddler enjoys.  The important thing is to establish a cycle where the child understands that learning new words will trigger a positive behavior that he or she likes.  This in turn will establish a natural learning cycle whereby the child actually is eagar to learn new words.

If a parent is too busy to do this physically, you can also turn to technology for help. For example, touch based devices such as the iPad are let toddlers know new words on their own. The apps are typically designed to be engaging so your child actually enjoys the learning process.

One such app is Toddlers first words created by your truly. We designed this app to be simple to use and yet be highly engaging to toddlers or children at very young age. For example, they can drag the jumbled letters to create the word, while learning to recognize and spell each of them.  Currently, this app has been downloaded all over the world and we hope you will find it useful as well.