Talking Toddlers

Does your toddler need you to entertain him all day? Does he lose interest in toys quickly, follow you everywhere, or struggle to figure out what to do next? You might be surprised by what's really involved in learning to play independently. In this episode, Erin Hyer explores the power of open-ended play and how everyday experiences help young children develop imagination, problem-solving, c...

Does your toddler understand what you're saying? And how can you help him become a better listener - even before he's talking in sentences? Between 12 and 24 months, your toddler is developing important listening and understanding skills. But these skills don't develop simply by memorizing words, colors, or numbers.  Real understanding grows through everyday experiences, meaningful...

Should my toddler be talking more? It’s an understandable question, but word count alone does not tell you how well your child is communicating. In this episode, I explain the developmental skills sitting underneath talking — including initiation, shared attention, turn-taking, and the different jobs language begins to do in everyday life. You’ll also learn what to watch for instead of only counti...

Does your toddler seem able to focus deeply on a screen, but struggle to stay with a book, sit through a meal, play independently, or listen when you need him to? In this episode, Erin looks beyond the surface and explains what attention actually asks of a developing child. A screen may be very effective at holding attention, but real-world attention is built through movement, participation, repet...

When every little thing starts feeling like a battle, the problem may not be the cup, the shoes, the bath, or leaving the park. The final trigger is often only one part of a much bigger developmental picture. In this episode, I’m helping you widen the lens. We’ll talk about why toddler skills are still emerging , why having a skill is not the same as being able to access it under every condition,...

“I know he understands me. So why isn’t he listening?” If you’ve ever thought that about your toddler, this episode will help you look at the moment a little differently. Understanding your words and being able to follow through are not the same developmental skill. Before your toddler can respond, he may need to register your voice, shift his attention away from what he is doing, process what you...

When your toddler is struggling - with a zipper, a shoe, climbing onto something - how do you know if you should step in or wait? In this episode, early child development specialist and speech-language pathologist Erin Hyer (nearly 40 years working with toddlers and the families raising them) breaks down the difference between productive struggle and genuine overwhelm - and gives you a simple ques...

What if the most important part of your child learning to talk happens before he ever says a single word? Most moms don't start thinking seriously about speech until they're counting words: 18 months, 20 months, two years old.  But talking is not the beginning of language development. Words arrive after months of listening, watching, babbling, gesturing, imitating, taking turns, experime...

Whining is one of the most common - and frustrating - phases of toddlerhood. But often, it doesn’t become a pattern because a child is “bad” or manipulative. It becomes a pattern because it works. In this episode, Erin Hyer, speech-language pathologist and early child development specialist, explains why toddlers whine, why “use your words” is often too vague for very young children, and how paren...

Do you jump in the second your baby struggles? Wipe her face after every bite? Keep the TV or a podcast running because the house feels too quiet? These are ordinary, loving habits — but sometimes our instinct to help, clean, entertain, or keep things moving can quietly take away the very experiences our babies and toddlers need to grow. In this episode, Erin Hyer, speech-language pathologist and...

What is stealing your toddler’s attention? If your child seems constantly distracted, overly active, emotionally reactive, or unable to stay with one activity for very long, the answer may be more complicated than simply “they need to learn to focus.” In this episode of Talking Toddlers, Erin looks at four powerful influences shaping a young child’s developing attention: predictable daily rhythms,...

Your toddler snatches a toy. The daycare flags it.  Another mom clocks it at a playdate. And somewhere in the back of your mind, a question starts to form: is something wrong with him? Nothing is. He's just being asked to do something he isn't built for - yet. In this episode, I break down the real difference between turn-taking and sharing — two skills that get talked about like they&ap...

You've been narrating everything. Labeling. Reading. Filling the room with language.  And nothing seems to be sticking. That's because your words only land when your child's attention and yours are on the same thing, in the same moment.  It's called shared attention — and you're already doing it without knowing how much it matters. In this episode I unpack what shared atte...

Why does your toddler hit, bite, or throw things—even when you are trying to parent calmly and consistently? Toddler hitting and biting may look like a discipline problem, but for many young children, it begins as a communication gap. Your toddler is not necessarily choosing to be “bad.” He may be using his body because the language, regulation, and impulse-control skills that should replace the h...

Your toddler isn't talking yet — or at least not as much as you think he should be. And every piece of advice you've found tells you to do more or wait it out.  Neither one is the answer. There's a sequence to how talking develops. It doesn't start with words — it ends with them. And if nobody's handed you that sequence, you're either frozen or doing everything at onc...

Everyone keeps telling you not to worry. "He'll talk when he's ready."  You smile, you nod — but somewhere underneath, your gut isn't buying it. Trust that. Because "ready" is the wrong word — and "wait and see" is not the gentle, neutral choice it pretends to be. After almost forty years with toddlers and the families raising them, Erin Hyer, speech la...

You talk to your toddler all day long. You narrate everything.  And still — he's not talking, or not very much.  So you do what everyone tells you: talk to him even more. After almost forty years with toddlers and the families raising them, here's what Erin Hyer, speech-language pathologist, can tell you: talking more isn't the fix. Language isn't built by the number of words y...

If you've ever said "no" to your toddler and watched them do it anyway — you're not failing. You're just missing one piece of information that changes everything. The developing brain under three cannot reliably process negation. "Don't throw" registers as "throw." "No hitting" registers as "hit."  And the more you escalate, the...

Is your child a late talker? Or is something else going on?  After 40 years working with toddlers and their families, I can tell you that the term "late talker" gets thrown around so loosely — by pediatricians, educators, and early intervention teams — that most parents are left more confused than helped. In this episode I'm giving that term its definition back. We walk through a si...

Is my baby behind? Should she be crawling, walking, talking, or doing more by now? If you’ve ever found yourself Googling developmental milestones late at night, this episode will help you breathe, think clearly, and know what to watch. In this episode, Erin explains what milestones really are — not rigid deadlines, but guideposts that help parents notice progress, ask better questions, and suppor...

Your baby fusses in the car seat and your chest tightens. Your toddler falls apart when the block tower tumbles. Every instinct says — fix it, fast.  But what if rushing in is quietly preventing the very thing you want to build? This week on Talking Toddlers, Erin pulls back the curtain on one of the most misunderstood pieces of early development: resilience. After nearly four decades in private p...

Your baby didn't ask for a nursery full of gear. She asked for you. In this episode, Erin breaks down three of the most common baby products on the market — containers, weighted blankets, and white noise machines — and explains exactly why, after nearly 40 years of clinical practice, misusing them concerns her deeply. You'll learn: Why babies need movement, not containment The connection...

If you’ve ever wondered, “Should my child be talking by now?”  or "Is he talking enough?" -- this episode will give you clarity. Before children use words, they build the skills that make talking possible. In this episode, I walk you through the 7 stages of play in the first three years—and how each one helps your child learn to talk, listen, and engage. You’ll learn:  What your child sh...

"My toddler isn't listening." If you've said those words - or thought them - this episode is for you. In this episode of Talking Toddlers, speech-language pathologist Erin (with nearly 40 years in early intervention) unpacks one of the most misunderstood parts of toddler development:  listening. Spoiler: it's not what you think. And it's probably not what your toddler...

Have you ever reacted to your toddler… and then immediately wondered, “Why did I just do that?” In this episode, we look beneath the surface of toddler behavior and explore a truth that can feel both confronting and freeing: sometimes our reactions have less to do with our child - and more to do with our own history. I share how early patterns, survival strategies, and emotional wiring can quietly...