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AdeleMarie88
22-11-2013, 10:08 PM
Hello all, I need a little advice!!

I have a 30month old, his speech is just starting to form, I have looked after him since he was 14months, so I know him pretty well and always know what he is trying to tell me, however I am very aware at how poor his pronunciation is.

Except for tv character names!! He can't say please of even his own name clearly, but he can talk about buzz light year, lightening McQueen, mike, sully and boo (monsters inc) and tree foo tom?? We rarely rarely have tv on during the day, and if we do it tends to be during a time when Peter rabbit is on! So it must be from home. Not sure how, or even if, I should mention this to mom. I am not a parent myself, and I will not judge putting tv on over the weekend, however, I don't feel as if he is getting a balance of activities. At his 2yr check I discussed this with mom and she agreed it should be main focus at home, read more stories, sing more songs and so on. Since then we have also had a parents evening and again I mention working on speech, so I don't want mom to feel as if I am nagging. But I am concerned that his only clear words are tv characters. His sentences are very jumbled, and I have to guess what he is asking me, but as I know him so well, I usually get it right... Not sure what my next steps are? X

bunyip
23-11-2013, 02:52 PM
Does he meet with other children anywhere?

Are parents talking/singing/doing stories and rhymes with him?

AdeleMarie88
23-11-2013, 03:08 PM
Does he meet with other children anywhere?

Are parents talking/singing/doing stories and rhymes with him?

Other than activities he does with me, twice a week, no I don't think he is. I ask questions and talk to mom about what he has done, but she is very vague. They work very hard all of the time, so I suspect they just put him in front of tv. He even has a tv and DVD in his bedroom!!

Mouse
23-11-2013, 03:22 PM
I can highly recommend giving I-Can a call and making an appointment to speak to a S&L therapist. I spoke to a very helpful lady who explained that S&L development pretty much follows a set path. She helped me figure out whether the child I was concerned about is following the right path, but is just a bit behind, or if they have slipped off the development path & need guidance to get them back on. They don't give advice on the actual child, but do explain what is normal development and what should give cause for concern. I was very impressed with their help.

Enquiry Service (http://www.ican.org.uk/en/What-we-do/I%20CAN%20Help/Enquiry%20Service.aspx)

My mindee sounds very similar to yours and I have now helped mum to get a referral to the local S&L team. She's still waiting for an appointment to come through, but in the meantime I-Can have sent me some fab resources to look at with games and ideas of how to encourage his speech.

AdeleMarie88
23-11-2013, 05:16 PM
Thank you very much,that's amazing! X

bunyip
25-11-2013, 08:15 AM
I agree with Mouse.

Also talk to lo as much as possible and encourage parents to do likewise. It may just be that the tv is the only place he regular hears much dialogue, and parents need to talk about anything/everything they are doing. Sometimes parents forget that the most mundane thing is new to a child and will give them experience and stimulation in conversation.

Can you get them into group situations too? eg. Toddler group or children's centre? Experience of their peers communicating around and eventually with the child should be beneficial. This is often one of the reasons that parents and LAs think lo's are better off at nursery than with a CM. If you're proactive about getting them into a group setting within your routine, then you lessen the chances of the parents deciding to switch to a nursery.

Our LA is quite big on C&L - does yours run any courses to support you?

AdeleMarie88
25-11-2013, 08:41 AM
I agree with Mouse. Also talk to lo as much as possible and encourage parents to do likewise. It may just be that the tv is the only place he regular hears much dialogue, and parents need to talk about anything/everything they are doing. Sometimes parents forget that the most mundane thing is new to a child and will give them experience and stimulation in conversation. Can you get them into group situations too? eg. Toddler group or children's centre? Experience of their peers communicating around and eventually with the child should be beneficial. This is often one of the reasons that parents and LAs think lo's are better off at nursery than with a CM. If you're proactive about getting them into a group setting within your routine, then you lessen the chances of the parents deciding to switch to a nursery. Our LA is quite big on C&L - does yours run any courses to support you?

We always go to groups and stay and plays during the week, and he does experience social situations with me. I talk to him all the time, but for the other 5 days he doesn't get this stimulation, sadly.

I plan to discuss with parents this evening, hopefully they will listen to me.

My LA are very good, there are a couple of courses which I am interested in going to, also plan to get in touch with a friend who works at SALT, see whether she can point me in the right direction. X