How to expand your toddler’s vocabulary with action words

At this stage of language development, your child may be starting to put two words together to form a short sentence. To do that, they need verbs—or action words. Action words are known as “functional” vocabulary because they help children communicate important information, like when they want something or need your attention ❤️

6 ways to help your child learn action words

1. Start with common verbs

Lovevery’s pediatric speech-language pathologist, Kelli Meyers, likes introducing these common action words first: 

• Eat
• Drink
• Help
• Give
• Stop
• Sit
• Stand
• Go
• Come
• Open
• Close
• Sleep
• Wash

2. Pair action words with gestures

Gesturing at the same time you use an action word may help your child understand what it means. For example, bring your hand to your mouth like you’re lifting a cup to illustrate the word “drink.” 

3. Use action words in different contexts

Research suggests that children learn action words better when they see and hear the word in different contexts. For example, you can repeat the word “wash” as you clean your child’s hands, do laundry together, or pretend to bathe the animals from the Montessori Animal Match in The Companion Play Kit.

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The Companion Play Kit (Months 22-24)

Nurture your toddler’s emotional intelligence with toys from The Companion Play Kit

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4. Try fill-in-the-blank

Intentionally leave an action word out of a song, rhyme, or phrase your child already knows and see if they can fill it in on their own: “If you’re happy and you know it _______.” If your child isn’t sure of the words, clap your hands to help them remember.

5. Act out movements in a book

For example, as you read the “Things I Can Do” book from The Companion Play Kit, pause and encourage your child to clap, wave, dance, and jump along with the children in the photos. 

6. Expand on what your child says

If your child is already saying two-word phrases with both a noun and a verb, introduce an adjective or adverb next: When they say, “Dog run,” you could say, “Dog runs fast.” Or, use the action word in a different form: “Yes, the dog is running.”

Learn more about the research

Snape, S. & Krott, A. (2018). The benefit of simultaneously encountered exemplars and of exemplar variability to verb learning. Journal of Child Language, 45(6), 1412-1422.