Raising Children Network: the Australian parenting website
  • Suitable for 5-8Years

Talking: school-age children

By Raising Children Network
 
 

Did you knowQuestion mark symbol

It's normal for school-age children to still trip over grammar occasionally and to get words confused.
 

What to expect

By about grade two or three, your child will probably:

  • like to tell jokes and riddles
  • be able to talk with adults confidently
  • be able to describe complicated situations
  • express a range of ideas
  • read aloud
  • have an increased vocabulary
  • be able to use the telephone.

At six your child will probably be comfortably communicating, though there will still be times when he gets muddled. Understanding tenses will still be a challenge. Between the ages of seven and eight most language difficulties will be resolved and your child will be able to explain himself, join in conversations and tell detailed stories about daily events.

Your child may not always talk about any troubles he's having at school or with friends. He might need your help to open up and share any concerns. One way to do this is to ask your child open-ended questions, such as, ‘What did you enjoy about school today?’ These encourage more of a response than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’, and can help your child raise any topics that are worrying him.

Play ideas to encourage talking

Research shows that your child's language will benefit greatly if you take the time to listen and chat together. Your school-age child is likely to be keen to talk to you, to friends and to other family as much as possible in these years.

School-age children can have so much news to share that they stumble over words and get frustrated. Your child will get the words out in his own time. If you keep listening patiently, your child will learn that what he has to say is important.

To encourage talking and vocabulary expansion, you can:

  • read together
  • talk to each other
  • sing songs together
  • use story/song tapes or CDs in the car
  • tell jokes and riddles.

All children develop at their own rate. If you have any concerns about your child's speech, such as a stutter or the mispronunciation of certain letters at seven or eight, for example, it would be a good idea to take your child to see a health professional.

 
 
 
 
  • Last reviewed11-05-2006
  • References

    Rubin, K.H., Bukowski, W., & Parker, J.G. (1998). Peer interactions, relationships and groups. In W. Damon (Series Ed.) & N. Eisenberg (Vol Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional and personality development (5th ed.). New York: Wiley.

    Saarni, C., Mumme, D.L., & Campos, J.J. (1998). Emotional development: Action, communication, and understanding. In W. Damon (Series Ed.) & N. Eisenberg (Vol Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional and personality development (5th ed.). New York: Wiley.