Language is an important part of your pre-schooler's life. Without language, she'd be unable to communicate her needs, wants and desires to the outside world. Language development itself represents an important pre-requisite to other skills important to later academic success, such as reading.

Here are some suggestions for stimulating your pre-schooler's language development, so that she can maximize her ability to communicate effectively.

Talk a lot with your child. Just the simple act of conversation provides your child with adult examples of spoken English she can incorporate into her own growing ability to express herself.
Have fun with riddles, puns, tongue-twisters and other word games. These emphasize the playful aspects of language and teach your child important language skills, such as vocabulary, use of syntax, semantics and articulation.
Let your child use a tape recorder to record her voice and hear it played back. This gives her instant feedback on how she's coming across.

Language is central to your child's development. Don't take it for granted, but nurture it along gently. You'll be glad you did!!

Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D. is a psychologist, learning specialist and nationally-known expert in the fields of human development and learning. His familiar books include "In Their Own Way", "The Radiant Child" and "Awakening Your Child's Natural Genius". His column "The Learning Curve" appears monthly in "Parenting Magazine".