Our favourite resources for working with babies and toddlers.
1. ‘Babytalk’ by Sally Ward.
This text is a well-loved and well-used resource in the clinic. Great for parents who would like to get more background information on language development through the early years. Available at Book Depository.
2. Raising Children Network website.
An Australian government website which covers a range of issues for parents with children aged 0-18 years. Speech & language, behaviour, nutrition, health care and sleep are all discussed with how-to videos and information sheets.
Some videos we use on language stimulation in babies and toddlers are;
We also like the Baby Karaoke which gives all the words for many nursery rhymes. This can be downloaded as an App for the Iphone too.
Baby Karaoke – click here
3. Farm animals
A set of large farm animals is an invaluable resource for any clinic. We use it for encouraging imitation of sounds and gestures – animal sounds, eating/drinking sounds, sh! for sleeping. For more information go to our Farm page.
4. Pinterest boards
Pinterest is a great resource for getting different ideas for play themes, children’s books, nursery rhymes and information sheets. The visual nature makes it easy to scan for exactly the kinds of ideas you need! Check out the BusyBugs Pinterest boards!
5. Language Development Survey by Rescorla (1989).
Update – we now use the OZI – developed here in Australia!
This words list is an invaluable part of our case history taking. Mostly we ask parents to complete this prior to their assessment so that they can start to count (and identify) the words the child is using. It is a great baseline to chart progress. We also find that often parents will be surprised at how many words there are once they start counting them.
6. ‘Parentese’ video
Parentingcounts.org is an American website with loads of information on parenting and child development. We love this video of how important it is to use the sing song aspects of parentese with babies. See video
7. Baby Sign Resources
Baby Sign & Learn Cards. This is a new series using Keyword signs from Auslan. There are double-sided flashcards, a book and even an App. The double sided cards have a photo of an object on one side and then flip over to a cartoon baby doing the sign
8. Toddler Play by Wendy Masi
This beautifully photographed book has lots of wonderful play ideas for parents. Available from Amazon.
9. Mr Potato Head
This old favourite toy can be used again and again!
10. Last but not least, Wind up Toys
We cannot do without a box of wind up toys! So motivating and rewarding for toddlers. A wonderful opportunity to show parents the power of communication and how to request. An absolute must! Available at Amazon.