Your one stop for all things child speech, language and communication skills!
Do you have questions about ‘where to start’ or how best to nurture the speech, language and communication skills of your child or a child you educate? If so, the Chatterbox is the place for you. We aim to answer these questions and build capacity in both parents and educators to support the development of communication skills for all children.
Language Rich Homes
Creating a Language Rich Home From the moment we are born, we are ready to start soaking up speech and language from our caregiver and to lay down the blueprint for our later developing communication skills. We can significantly and directly influence our children's' development by engaging in activities [...]
Moving beyond ‘Eye Contact’
Eye Contact - What do we mean by this term and is it ever appropriate to work on? The term 'eye contact' is often referred to as an important skill that children must acquire on their way to becoming social participants in interactions. 'Demonstrates appropriate eye contact' often appears [...]
Tell me a Story
Becoming a good story teller The art of being a good story teller is well regarded across many cultures. The stories we tell help us to connect with one another, to develop our relationships and friendships, to engage in conversations and to reflect upon past events (both real and [...]
Let’s go for a Walk!
We can nurture the language development of our children by doing something as simple as going for a walk Physical movement engages multiple senses. It stimulates brain connections and has also been linked to increased creativity and wellbeing. Going for a walk is easy, fun to do and is [...]
Screen Time and Toddlers
The Average Australian Toddler spends 2-3 hours engaging in screen time each day Did anyone see this rather startling headline in last week's news bulletins? At the outset it certainly makes you sit up and take notice. The results of a long term, large scale study of Australian toddlers [...]
Settling into a New School Year
Transitions can be tricky for many of us. Starting a new school year can be a particularly challenging time for many children. After a lovely summer holiday in Australia, children are now well and truly into Term 1. Most have settled in well but several may still be struggling [...]