{"h1":"Working on Verbal & Nonverbal Communication at Home","faq":[{"a":"Little and often works best. A few minutes woven into mealtimes, bath time and play throughout the day is far more effective than one long session — communication grows through everyday connection.","q":"How much time should I spend on these activities each day?"},{"a":"Gestures like pointing and waving are an important and healthy part of communication, and often come before words. If your child has very few words by age 2 or isn't combining two words by age 3, it's worth arranging a developmental check for reassurance and guidance.","q":"My child uses gestures but few words — is that a problem?"},{"a":"Gently model the right version instead of correcting. If they say \"wabbit\", you reply \"yes, a rabbit!\" — this keeps communication positive and encourages them to keep trying.","q":"Should I correct my child when they say a word wrong?"}],"lang":"en","slug":"how-can-i-work-on-verbal-and-nonverbal-communication-with-my-child-at-home","title":"How can I work on Verbal and NonVerbal Communication with my child at home?","entity":{"key":"tech-830","kind":"technique_howto","name":"Verbal and NonVerbal Communication","slug":"verbal-and-nonverbal-communication"},"lenses":[{"kind":"stakeholder","label":"Parent","value":"parent"},{"kind":"domain","label":"Communication","value":"communication"},{"kind":"intent","label":"Find Activities","value":"find_activities"},{"kind":"empowerment","label":"Family Empowerment","value":"family_empowerment"}],"parent":null,"related":[{"lang":"en","slug":"how-can-i-work-on-verbal-and-nonverbal-interaction-with-my-child-at-home","title":"How to Work on Verbal & Non-Verbal Interaction at Home"},{"lang":"en","slug":"how-can-i-work-on-nonverbal-communication-role-with-my-child-at-home","title":"How can I work on Nonverbal Communication with my child at home?"},{"lang":"en","slug":"how-can-i-work-on-improving-nonverbal-with-my-child-at-home","title":"How to Improve Non-Verbal Communication at Home"},{"lang":"en","slug":"how-can-i-work-on-nonverbal-communication-skills-with-my-child-at-home","title":"How can I work on Nonverbal Communication Skills with my child at home?"},{"lang":"en","slug":"how-can-i-work-on-nonverbal-communication-with-my-child-at-home","title":"How can I work on Nonverbal Communication with my child at home?"},{"lang":"en","slug":"how-can-i-work-on-verbal-communication-with-my-child-at-home","title":"How can I work on Verbal Communication with my child at home?"}],"summary":"Build verbal and nonverbal communication at home through face-to-face play, naming everyday actions, pausing to give your child a turn, and treating every gesture as meaningful. Communication grows from warm connection, and little-and-often beats long sessions. These activities support development but do not replace a clinical assessment if you are concerned.","answer_md":"*Every shared glance, gesture and giggle is a building block of communication — and your living room is the best place to start.*\n\n## In short\nYou can grow your child's [verbal and nonverbal communication](/verbal-and-nonverbal-communication) at home through warm, everyday moments — face-to-face play, naming what you both see, pausing to let your child respond, and responding to their gestures as if they're full sentences. Communication grows from connection, not drills, so little-and-often beats long sessions. These activities support development; they do not replace a clinical assessment if you have concerns.\n\n## Activities you can try today\n**Build nonverbal foundations (gestures, eye contact, expressions)**\n- Get down to your child's eye level during play — face-to-face is where back-and-forth begins.\n- Use big, friendly facial expressions and gestures: wave bye-bye, point at the bird, clap, blow kisses.\n- Copy your child first. If they bang a spoon, you bang a spoon — being imitated makes children want to communicate more.\n- Offer choices by holding up two objects (\"banana or apple?\") so a point, reach or look becomes meaningful.\n\n**Grow verbal communication (words and sounds)**\n- **Narrate the day** — \"Now we wash hands… splash, splash!\" Children learn words by hearing them tied to real actions.\n- **Pause and wait.** After you ask or offer, count slowly to five. That silence is your child's turn to babble, gesture or speak.\n- **Add one word.** If your child says \"car\", you say \"big car\" or \"red car\" — expand, don't correct.\n- **Sing and use rhymes** with actions; the rhythm and repetition make words easy to predict and join in.\n- **Read together** by talking about the pictures rather than reading every word — point, ask, and follow what interests them.\n\n**Make it stick**\n- Follow your child's lead — talk about whatever they're already looking at or holding.\n- Reduce background noise (TV off) so your voice and theirs are easy to hear.\n- Celebrate every attempt — a sound, a point, a look — so communicating feels rewarding.\n\n## When to seek a check\nThese activities suit most children, but speak to a professional if your child isn't using gestures like pointing by around 12 months, has very few words by 2, or seems to lose skills they once had. Early support is gentle, hopeful and effective — explore [speech therapy](https://www.pinnacleblooms.org/top-speech-therapy-center-india-proven-improvement-rate) to see how guided play builds on what you do at home.\n\n## The Pinnacle way\nAcross 70+ centres in 4 states, our 700+ therapists weave these same everyday strategies into play-based sessions and coach families to use them at home. A clinical [AbilityScore®](/ask/what-is-the-abilityscore-and-how-is-it-calculated) and any diagnosis are formed only at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre under qualified clinician care — home activities are a wonderful start, not a substitute for that assessment.\n\n## Trusted sources\nGuided by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association on early communication, CDC \"Learn the Signs. Act Early.\" milestones, and the WHO–UNICEF Nurturing Care Framework on responsive caregiving.\n\n**Next step —** message our team on WhatsApp at +91 91001 81181 to book a developmental assessment or ask which home activities best fit your child's stage.\n\nThis is general information, not a diagnosis — individual assessment and diagnosis require an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.","canonical":"https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/how-can-i-work-on-verbal-and-nonverbal-communication-with-my-child-at-home","editorial":{"reviewed_at":"2026-06-11T20:12:18.613642+00:00","reviewed_by":null,"developed_by":"SETU Consortium · Pinnacle Blooms Network"},"alternates":[{"href":"https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/how-can-i-work-on-verbal-and-nonverbal-communication-with-my-child-at-home","lang":"en","indexable":true}],"dimensions":[],"meta_title":"Home Activities for Verbal & Nonverbal Speech","meta_robots":"index, follow, max-image-preview:large","everyday_tip":"After you ask or offer something, pause and count slowly to five — that silence becomes your child's turn to babble, gesture or speak.","published_at":"2026-06-11T06:20:00.190185+00:00","reading_paths":[{"key":"home","items":[{"lang":"en","slug":"how-can-i-work-on-nonverbal-communication-with-my-child-at-home","title":"How can I work on Nonverbal Communication with my child at home?","reason":"Linked from this answer"},{"lang":"en","slug":"how-can-i-work-on-nonverbal-communication-skills-with-my-child-at-home","title":"How can I work on Nonverbal Communication Skills with my child at home?","reason":"Linked from this answer"},{"lang":"en","slug":"how-can-i-work-on-nonverbal-communication-role-with-my-child-at-home","title":"How can I work on Nonverbal Communication with my child at home?","reason":"Linked from this answer"},{"lang":"en","slug":"how-can-i-work-on-verbal-and-nonverbal-interaction-with-my-child-at-home","title":"How to Work on Verbal & Non-Verbal Interaction at Home","reason":"Linked from this answer"},{"lang":"en","slug":"how-can-i-work-on-improving-nonverbal-with-my-child-at-home","title":"How to Improve Non-Verbal Communication at Home","reason":"Linked from this answer"},{"lang":"en","slug":"how-can-i-work-on-verbal-communication-with-my-child-at-home","title":"How can I work on Verbal Communication with my child at home?","reason":"Linked from this answer"}],"label":"At home & in everyday life","total":6}],"what_to_watch":"Speak to a professional if your child isn't pointing or gesturing by around 12 months, has very few words by age 2, isn't joining two words by age 3, or appears to lose communication skills they once had.","authority_links":[{"url":"https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/communicationmilestones/","label":"ASHA — Communication milestones"},{"url":"https://www.cdc.gov/child-development","label":"CDC — Learn the Signs. Act Early."},{"url":"https://nurturing-care.org/","label":"WHO–UNICEF Nurturing Care Framework"}],"last_reviewed_at":"2026-06-11T06:20:00.190185+00:00","meta_description":"Simple, play-based ways to grow your child's verbal and nonverbal communication at home — narrating, pausing, gestures and shared reading. Parent-friendly ","related_materials":[],"related_techniques":[{"title":"Verbal and NonVerbal Communication","utilization":146}]}