Where we started
Our son is three. He's very good at working out how things work, and brilliant with tablets and gadgets. But he still has only a few words. When he wants something, he takes our hand and leads us to it.
We're busy, working parents. We didn't have time to become experts, but we badly wanted to know what to do.
What was hard
Information was scattered across many websites. Some of it disagreed, some was selling something, and it was hard to know what to trust or what to do first.
What we did
We went back to the sources we could trust: the NHS, speech and language therapists, and published research. We turned what they say into a simple plan of short, playful games that fit around our week: nursery days, work days and family days.
We keep short notes after each game, so we can see what he enjoys and what works for him. It has been really useful for us.
A game made for him
He loves tablets, so we looked for an app that would really help him with words, not just keep him busy. Most apps we found were loud and fast, with scores, timers, buzzers for wrong answers, adverts and things to buy. For him, that was too much.
So we made our own: Fluffy Pairs. A little friend called Bobo says each word slowly and then waits, the way speech therapists suggest.[1] Whatever comes back, a word, a sound or nothing at all, is fine. There's no score, no timer, and nothing is ever wrong.
He plays it with one of us next to him, so it's something we do together, not time alone on a screen. It's free, with no adverts and nothing to buy, and nothing he says ever leaves the tablet. It isn't a therapy and doesn't replace a speech therapist: it's a calm place to play and practise words together.
See Fluffy Pairs at Filip's Workshop
Fluffy Pairs is in early testing on Google Play.
Why we're sharing it
We don't want other parents to struggle the way we did just to find good information. So we put it all in one place, in plain words, with every fact linked to where it comes from. Nothing here is our opinion or a guess.
We're also turning our play plan into an app, so other families can use it too. See the app
We're parents, not therapists. This guide doesn't replace your health visitor, GP or speech and language therapist. If you're worried, please ask them. Asking early is never wrong.
Sources for this page
- It's worth the wait · The Hanen Centre