You already have everything you need to help your child talk more. That’s not a slogan, it’s actually what the research shows. The Hanen Centre, a Canadian organization that has trained speech language pathologists since 1975, built their entire program around one finding: children learn language best during ordinary, everyday moments with the people they love, not during structured drills. Bath time, snack time, the walk to the car. Those moments matter more than any flashcard.
This guide walks you through 10 days of simple, no prep activities built around the same core techniques SLPs use every day. Nothing here requires special toys or training. It just asks you to talk with your child a little differently than you might be used to.
A quick note before you start. This guide is general information for supporting everyday communication, not an assessment or a treatment plan. If your child isn’t saying any words by 18 months, isn’t combining two words by two and a half to three years, or you’re simply worried, trust that. An assessment is quick and never a bad idea.
Three habits that show up every single day
Wait a little longer than feels natural. After you ask a question or your child starts something, count to five silently before jumping in. Kids often need that pause to find the word. We just rarely give it to them.
Talk about what’s happening, out loud. Narrate what you’re doing and what your child is doing, in short simple sentences. “I’m pouring the milk.” “You’re stacking the blocks!” You’re not quizzing them, you’re just describing their world.
Repeat it back, a little longer. If your child says “car go,” don’t correct it. Just say it back naturally with a bit more length: “Yes, the car is going fast!” Kids pick up grammar by hearing it modeled, not by being corrected.
The 10 days
Day 0 of 10 marked done
Saved on this device only. Nothing is sent anywhere and there is no account.
Day 1
Bath time words
Focus: body parts and action words.
Name each part as you wash it. “Now we’re washing your toes!” Use words like pour, splash, squeeze, float, and sink. Hand your child a cup and let them pour on their own while you narrate what happens.
Try saying: “Pour it in! Where did it go? It’s floating!”
Day 2
Snack time choices
Focus: requesting and first words.
Hold up two snack options and just wait. Let your child point or reach before you say anything. Once they choose, name it clearly. “Cracker! You want the cracker.” Break it into small pieces so they naturally have to ask again.
Try saying: “Cracker or apple?” Then wait a full five seconds before saying anything else.
Day 3
Book time, but talk more than you read
Focus: vocabulary and longer sentences.
Skip the printed words and talk about the pictures instead. Ask “what’s happening here?” rather than “what’s that?” since open questions build more language than naming quizzes do. Follow your child’s interest. If they keep flipping back to one page, stay there with them.
Try saying: “Oh look, the dog is running! Where do you think he’s going?”
Day 4
Pretend play
Focus: sentence building and imagination.
Get on the floor and follow their lead completely. Don’t direct it. Narrate the pretend actions. “The teddy bear is hungry! Should we feed him?” Give toys their own voices and build in a little back and forth exchange.
Try saying: “Teddy says he’s still hungry. What should we give him next?”
Day 5
A walk outside
Focus: describing words.
Point out and describe what you pass. Big tree, loud truck, soft leaf. Let your child touch different textures and talk about them together. Bumpy, smooth, cold, wet. Ask “which one” questions when there’s a choice.
Try saying: “Feel this bark, it’s so rough! Can you find something smooth?”
Day 6
Mealtime requests
Focus: putting two words together.
Model two word phrases constantly through the meal. More juice, all done, want that. If your child points, wait, and let them attempt to imitate before you hand it over. Praise any attempt at all, even an approximation.
Try saying: “More juice? Say more juice and I’ll pour it.”
Day 7
Sorting and categories
Focus: vocabulary groups and following directions.
Use laundry, toys, or blocks and sort them together by color, size, or type. Start with one step directions like “put the red one in the box.” Once that feels easy, try two steps. “Get the ball and bring it to me.”
Day 8
Music and rhymes
Focus: sound awareness and rhythm.
Sing familiar songs and pause right before the last word of a line, waiting for your child to fill it in. Clap out the syllables in their name or in simple words. The repetition here is the whole point, so the same three songs on repeat are actually doing real work.
Day 9
Cooking together
Focus: action words and sequence.
Give your child a real, safe task. Stirring, pouring, tearing lettuce. Talk through the steps as they happen. “First we mix, then we pour, then we wait.” Ask “what do we do next?” before telling them yourself.
Try saying: “We mixed it. What’s next? Do we pour it or stir it?”
Day 10
Whatever they choose
Focus: everything, but led entirely by them.
Let your child pick any activity from the past nine days. Your only job today is to follow their lead, wait a little longer than feels natural, and narrate what you see. No teaching agenda. Just notice what’s changed since day one. New words, longer sentences, more moments where they start the conversation instead of you.
A short toolkit, if you want one
None of this requires anything special, but if you’re looking for a few extras: board books with simple pictures, bubbles (genuinely one of the highest value toys for language, since pop, more, up, and blow all come up naturally), a few animal or people figures for pretend play, and stacking cups or blocks.
When it’s worth checking in
Trust yourself if any of this feels true. No words at all by 18 months. Not combining two words by two and a half to three years. Trouble understanding most of what they say by age three. Losing words or skills they used to have. Or simply feeling worried, which is reason enough on its own.
This guide draws on the parent coaching framework developed by the Hanen Centre, a Canadian organization that has trained speech language pathologists in evidence based, parent led strategies since 1975.
If you’d like support beyond what a guide can offer, we’re building a home based speech and language service for families in the Fraser Valley. Register your interest below.
Try this today
Ask “what’s happening here?” rather than “what’s that?” Open questions build more language than naming quizzes do.
Families across BC routinely wait months for a publicly funded speech and language assessment. How long depends on your health authority and your community.
Puffin, once active in your city
No wait list. Once the home based service is running in your city, families who have registered are contacted directly and scheduled.
Being straight with you: this service is not running everywhere yet. Rollout happens city by city, and which city comes next is decided by where families have registered interest. Registering tells us where the need is. It does not commit you to anything, and it is not a booking.
What happens next: someone from our team reads every registration and replies within 2 business days. Registering is not a booking and does not commit you to anything.
Register Your Interest
Be First to Know When We Launch
Tell us about your family and we’ll reach out as soon as we’re available in your area.