How Talking and Listening Skills Develop in Preschoolers

By Anisha Nair - Updated: December 13, 2018

It’s no secret that the simplest way to develop talking and listening skills in preschoolers is to talk with them as much as possible. But did you know how these skills develop? Read on to know more.

1. How Preschoolers Communicate

Now that your little one has grown from a baby to a preschooler, his way of talking and listening also grows. No more soft babbles, gurgles and coos. You’ll soon see that this is both a blessing and a curse! Check out how preschoolers communicate:

2. Chitter Chatter

Regardless of how quiet your baby was, he will surely become quite the chatterbox now! Your child will be able to express himself in simple sentences such as “I’m hungry” or “I want to play now.” Unfortunately, this also means he will talk about anything and everything under the sun. And although this will be downright adorable when your child wants to share the details of how he shared his lunch with the cute puppy in school, prepare for times when you will be downright embarrassed by him! No, your child won’t think twice about sharing with random strangers about exactly how mummy and daddy fought and made up last night.

3. Love Imitation

Babies love to imitate and this quality is not going anywhere now that your little one has grown into naughty little preschooler. She will imitate anything you say, particularly a word, statement or phrase that is new to her, or sounds fun and amusing. And being the innocent chatterbox that she is, she will not hesitate before repeating something she heard you say. Be careful of what you say or do around her! She will also tend to exaggerate or misuse words without meaning to, for instance, during activities such as pretend play. So don’t be surprised if you find your preschooler scold your doll by saying, “Finish your dessert or you won’t get any more chocolates!”

4. Natural Storytellers

Kids love stories, so it should hardly come as a surprise that they love to make them up too! Plus, stories help kids make sense of the new things that they are learning every day. Consider this scenario: your child has seen rain for the first time and now winter is coming. She will express her sadness by saying something like, “When the rain goes away, the trees go out to search for her.”

Being innocent little creatures, preschoolers take everything—including words—literally. Unable to understand and detect sarcasm and double meanings, they figure things out on the basis of what they hear. So if your child hears you saying, “I had a rough day today”, they will take it to mean that your day was rough to touch. Keep it simple by either using words your toddler understands, or teaching new words before/after using them. Rest assured, if you have daily conversations with your kid, their talking and listening skills will develop just fine.

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