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If your twins are nearing toddlerhood, they've probably begun babbling and, before you know it, they'll be going a mile-a-minute with stories and tidbits they just can't wait to share with you.
But before they become Chatty Kathys (or Karls?), they need to learn how to carry a conversation. And, in order to be able to do that, they also need to grasp the fundamentals of language, including listening comprehension.
Learning language skills
What exactly is listening comprehension? It's not just about hearing words. It's more than being an active listener in a conversation.
It's about making sense of the words you hear and then relating them to the bigger picture. It's the ability to understand spoken language, from recognizing speech sounds and understanding individual words, to comprehending the syntax of sentences.
Listening comprehension allows you to understand stories (which is super important when it comes to your toddlers' bedtime, of course), remember information (like, where you hid the rest of the cookies when you thought they weren't looking), and discuss what you've heard (like just how big their birthday cake is going to be this year).
Listening comprehension allows you to understand stories, remember information, and discuss what you've heard.
Developing and improving listening comprehension can involve practicing listening at different speeds and engaging with various listening activities.
Enter Bailey, a plush, little pup who takes on the task of bringing the basic building blocks to your burgeoning babes.
While it's normally a pup's person who's barking out orders, like, "Speak!," this friendly dog by LeapFrog turns the tables and helps your twins with their language development by engaging them in conversation.
Bailey encourages language development and listening comprehension by interacting with little ones who are learning to talk.
She can answer back with real-time responses, repeating what they say, having conversations, answering questions, and creating short stories using their own voice.
Fun back and forth
Designed for ages 12 months and older, Bailey can interact with inquisitive children, helping them to reinforce language skills and learn about letters, numbers, animals, feelings, and emotions.
The soft doggo moves her head and flaps her ears as she responds to your children's speech, talking back in a playful voice that causes your little ones' ears to perk up and encourages them to interact and engage in back-and-forth conversation.
There are three different levels of language play, so this toy can grow right alongside your tiny tikes as they develop their skills.
Silly, sensory play
Bailey comes to life when you press the buttons on her four paws or her LED collar.
When pressed, the collar button lights up and activates Babble mode, in which Bailey repeats what your kids say and makes silly sounds while they talk and learn together.
In Talk mode, this pup poses questions and creates short stories to help your children develop their conversation skills.
One one paw, the star button helps your littles learn about letter sounds and counting.
The music button on another paw activates fun songs for them to learn from while listening and dancing to the tunes. This delightful dog dances right along with them, flapping her ears to the beat, which only makes things more silly and fun.
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Speak & Learn Puppy by LeapFrog
Learning Unleashed
This is the Speak & Learn Puppy by LeapFrog. It's an interactive dog that repeats what your children say and asks questions to keep the conversation going. It has three different learning levels, so it'll grow with your littles as their language skills develop.
Keep the conversation going
While this pup chats with your children on a lower level, you can keep the conversation going by asking them what they talked to Bailey about today. It'll give them a chance to practice what they're learning and continue developing the skills they'll continue to use as they grow.
How do you encourage your children to develop their language skills? Let us know in the Comments section below or connect with us on Instagram to share your thoughts!
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