Like their sense of sight, your toddler has been listening to the world for a long time. In fact, of all their senses – they’ve been listening to the world around them since they were inside the womb. Your baby recognizes your scent and the sound of your voice before anything else. Their hearing is constantly bombarded by the sounds of the world around them.
It takes time for your toddler to learn how to shut out the other sounds and filter them. You can help your toddler expand their auditory skills by teaching them to ‘listen’ to specific sounds. For example, if you hear a siren – ask them if they can hear the whoo-whoo. When you hear planes going overhead, empathize with them about how loud it is – the same with a passing motorcycle.
When there is a song playing that your child likes, ask them about the music and point out the bird calls, dogs barking and even the sound of the cat meowing. But at the same time that you are pointing out all these great sounds, watch how loud you turn up the television, the stereo or other auditory devices. If you crank these up too loud you can damage their hearing. So watch the sound level, but keep introducing the sounds.
Music can be exceptionally soothing for your toddler. My daughter loves classical music and lyrical. She loves children’s music and watching the Wiggles – she enjoyed them as a toddler too. We took her to a children’s concert when she was two years-old and she got to enjoy the music, the dancing and the rhythm. Rhythm classes and games are another great way to focus their hearing on music and to filter out the other sounds in a song.
As they grow, you can let them play guessing games with the sounds you are generating for them whether it’s a bell, a music box, a ticking watch, an alarm clock or other noises. Your toddler can mimic sounds themselves and get you to guess the sound. Sounds are a wonderful teaching toy and you will eventually use the sounds of letters to help your son or daughter to identify words and more.
There’s also the sound of silence – you know that wonderful sound when your sweet angel is sleeping. That’s a great sound too!
Thanks for joining us with our exploration of the senses in the last couple of days. What sounds do you have fun playing for your toddler?
Related Articles:
The Sense of Sight – Looking at the World Through Rose-Colored Glasses
The Sense of Touch – The World is at Their Fingertips
Baby’s 5 Senses and How They Develop over the First Year