Speech and Language Development: The Importance of Verbs

A child's first words in their speech and language development are often nouns (e.g., doggie, mommy, daddy). Nouns are tangible, we can point to them, hold them, and show them to a child who is learning their first words. But, as language develops, it's important to incorporate verbs as well.

When a child has about 50 single words, they are ready to start combining the words into phrases (e.g., Daddy ball, Mommy up). This often happens between 20-24 months old. To support the process of combining words, kids need verbs! Verbs help in the process of speech and language development because they allow a child to more effectively share their thoughts, wants, and needs, and they are also helpful to combine with nouns to produce new phrases. 

From a speech therapist's perspective, when working with young children who need support to say their first words or expand their vocabulary, I share with families the importance of including verbs in our "target word" list. A "target word" list in speech therapy is the list of words that we are intentionally working on in a speech therapy session and the family is carrying over at home. Some of the "core words" I include on a target word list are: open, in, no, help, pop, uh oh, more, up, bye-bye, walk, go, mommy, daddy. This list contains a variety of words, including sound effects, various syllable shapes (e.g., consonant- vowel- consonant words, or vowel-consonant words), verbs, and nouns. There are a lot of verbs on this list because they're the best to model during play! 

In speech and language development, it's helpful to take tips and strategies that a speech therapist would use in their session and try them at home! Here are some of our top ways to work on verbs in a speech therapy session:

Act them out during play using animals, baby dolls, or people. 

• Wind Up toys are a staple in my speech therapy sessions! They are great for modeling verbs because after winding up the toy, they do some sort of action (i.e., walk, jump, hop, drive, fly). Wind-up toys also lead to lots of repetition, which we want when modeling first words and they're very entertaining for kids! Additionally, wind-up toys can be difficult for a child to work on their own, so they will often seek help. This provides an opportunity for the child to work on other core words in speech therapy: help, more, go

• Listen to songs and act out the verbs in the lyrics. Movement can be really supportive of speech and language development. When children are feeling regulated, which music can often support, they are more easily able to access language skills. Incorporating familiar songs with repeat language and actions can be a great way to work on first words. Some great songs for modeling verbs that I often use in speech therapy are:

  • Hop Little Bunnies by Toddler Fun Learning

  • Party Freeze Dance by Kiboomers

  • The Bath Song by Super Simple Songs

• Read books with lots of verbs and act them out as you read. Remember, a book does not have to be read exactly as it's written. Make adjustments so you can include actions in the story and encourage movement while reading because that's going to be most supportive of speech and language development. Some picture books for modeling verbs:

  • All Better by Henning Löhlein

    • Abby introduced me to this book, and I can't get enough of it! So many actions (e.g., wipe, kiss, rub, etc.)

  • Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt

    • A classic that has so many verbs and opportunities to act out the verbs!

  • I'm a Dirty Dinosaur by Janeen Brian

    • Abby introduced me to this one as well! She also shares more about how to use this story and extend the learning on her Instagram @the.type.b.slp

Verbs are so important to speech and language development! It can be easy to forget to focus on them with young children, but using a few of these tips will support your child in learning new words and meeting milestones in their language development.

You can read more about the milestones for speech and language development from birth to five years old in this post.