Expand your child's vocabulary

To encourage your child's language development, parents need to stay quiet and let their child initiate conversation, according to a recent study from the University of Sydney. Dr Susan Colmar conducted a four-month study with 15 children between the ages of three and five.

Using picture books as an aid, she found her reading programme resulted in an 11-fold improvement in the verbal language skills of her subjects. "It is evident that parents and preschool teachers talk far too much when talking with children," she said. Just like in a normal social situation, if you are talking to someone and they don't talk back, same with kids."

Follow her easy tips:

• Use picture books with interesting storylines and about two lines per page.
• When opening the page, don't rush into reading. Pause first, let your child look at the page and let them talk first.
• Encourage their chosen topic with open-ended questions like "why" and "how" that require more than just one-word answers.