Susie Dent’s expert strategies to expand and enrich your child’s vocabulary focus on daily habits you control at home. When you use simple reading strategies, rich conversations, and playful word games, your child’s vocabulary and overall child development move forward together.
Susie Dent’s vocabulary strategies for strong child development
Susie Dent warns that many children now hear fewer rich words, as passive screen time replaces shared reading and conversation. Vocabulary shrinks when words only come from short videos or quick messages. Your child needs deep, varied language input to build strong language skills and confident communication.
Think of vocabulary as the backbone of learning. With a wide range of words, your child understands school subjects, follows instructions, and expresses feelings clearly. When words are missing, frustration rises, and motivation to learn falls. The good news is that small daily choices at home change this story.
Reading strategies from Susie Dent to grow vocabulary fast
Susie Dent highlights reading strategies as the first step to vocabulary growth. Regular shared reading exposes children to rare words, complex sentences, and new ideas. Even ten to fifteen minutes a day adds up across a year and transforms word learning.
Alternate between fiction and nonfiction. Stories build empathy and emotional language, while factual books introduce topic words in science, history, and the arts. Pause on interesting words, say them slowly, and invite your child to repeat them. One short discussion around a new word often sticks longer than a full chapter read in silence.
You also support reading progress by connecting with specialists who focus on literacy. For expert guidance on family reading routines and child-friendly texts, explore resources from reading professionals such as these reading experts who work with parents and schools.
Using audiobooks to enrich language skills
Susie Dent stresses that listening counts as real reading input. High quality audiobooks bring expressive voices, accents, and pacing that model how language sounds in fluent use. This supports listening comprehension, grammar, and spoken vocabulary, especially for children who tire quickly when decoding print.
Invite your child to follow the printed book while listening to the audio version. The brain connects spoken sounds with written words, improving both literacy and word recognition. Long car rides, quiet time after school, or bedtime are ideal moments to turn on a story instead of a random video list.
Ask brief questions after a chapter. For example, “What new word did you notice?” or “How would you explain that word to a friend?” Short reflections like these push passive listening into active word learning, which strengthens language enrichment over time.
Word stories, dictionaries, and playful language enrichment
Susie Dent loves word histories because stories make words memorable. Children remember strange origins, funny images, and surprising links across languages. This turns vocabulary from a list to memorize into a world to explore, which keeps curiosity high.
Keep a child-friendly dictionary or etymology guide on the table. When a tricky word appears in a book, pause and look it up together. Reading the origin, roots, and example sentences shows your child how expert word learners approach unknown terms.
Sharing word origins at home
Choose one or two words each week and explore where they come from. You might pick a “word of the week” from a lesson at school, a book, or even a sign seen on a walk. Together, find the first known use, the language roots, and how the meaning changed across time.
Susie Dent often shares how meanings shift in unexpected ways. These shifts show children that language lives and changes, just like they do. Once your child sees vocabulary as something alive, they start to listen for unusual words everywhere, from sports commentary to song lyrics.
Susie Dent’s 10 magical words to inspire word learning
To model playful language enrichment, you can share some of the unusual words Susie Dent likes to discuss with families. Use them in sentences, create mini scenes, or invite your child to draw them.
- kerfuffle – A fuss or small commotion. Children enjoy the sound, and you can use it when siblings argue over toys.
- mellifluous – A sound that flows like honey. You might use it for a favorite song or a gentle speaking voice.
- thrill – Once linked to piercing or making a hole, now mostly used for excitement. Stories like this teach how meanings shift.
- apricity – The warmth of the sun on a winter day. Invite your child to spot apricity during a cold walk outside.
- susurrus – A soft rustling or whispering sound, often used for leaves or quiet wind.
- bags of mystery – An old nickname for sausages, hinting at hidden contents. This shows how playfulness appears in old word use.
- snerdle – One among many playful words for snuggling under covers. Try using it in morning routines.
- splendiferous – A humorous term for something impressive or magnificent, ideal for special days or big achievements.
- ruthful – The positive partner of ruthless, meaning full of compassion or pity.
- muscle – From Latin for “little mouse,” inspired by how a flexing arm looks under the skin.
These “magical” terms show your child that English holds surprises. When you model delight in strange words, your child sees vocabulary as fun, not as a test.
Word games and puzzles for everyday vocabulary practice
Susie Dent often recommends word games because they mix fun with serious learning. Games demand quick thinking, pattern spotting, and flexible use of words, which train the brain for broader education tasks.
You can rotate different types of games across the week. Short sessions fit into busy schedules and reduce resistance. When your child links language to laughter, they accept more new words each day without feeling pressured.
Simple word games you can play anywhere
Some effective games need no equipment. While walking, choose a letter and take turns saying words that start with it. In the car, play a game where one person says a word and the other finds a rhyme or a word in the same category. These quick exchanges build automatic access to vocabulary.
Board games with letters, tiles, or cards support both spelling and language skills. Digital word puzzles and safe online quizzes offer extra practice, but screens stay tools, not the main activity. You set the tone by using words to connect, not to compete with devices.
Turning daily routines into vocabulary time
Susie Dent highlights conversation during active tasks such as cooking or walking. When hands are busy, many children talk more freely. You gain chances to model new phrases, listen to school stories, and stretch your child’s expressive vocabulary.
Describe processes step by step in clear language. For example, while baking, talk about ingredients, textures, and actions. Words such as “whisk,” “fold,” “sticky,” or “smooth” strengthen both communication and science-related education later. Everyday language input like this builds a deep mental word bank.
Inviting your child to invent words and share slang
According to Susie Dent, children become better word learners when they see themselves as language creators. When your child invents words or explains classroom slang, they think consciously about meaning, sound, and use. This strengthens metalinguistic awareness, which supports advanced literacy later.
Instead of dismissing new slang, ask for translations. Questions like “When do you use that word?” or “What exact feeling does it express?” show respect for your child’s verbal world. Your curiosity teaches analytical thinking about language without a formal lesson.
Word invention as a family activity
Set aside a weekly “new word challenge.” Each person invents a term for a feeling, object, or situation that seems to lack a perfect label. Then everyone gives example sentences. Vote on favorites and agree to use them during the week.
This activity mirrors historical language change. Many words we now treat as standard started as creative inventions. When your child sees this pattern, they realize that vocabulary is not fixed. That insight encourages bravery when meeting difficult texts in school.
Reading, vocabulary, and broader child development
Susie Dent’s advice aligns with what many educators and child development specialists observe. Strong vocabulary supports emotional understanding, conflict resolution, and social bonding. Children who express their needs and feelings clearly handle frustration, friendship issues, and school tasks more successfully.
Early years programs that blend rich talk, stories, and structured play often show better long-term outcomes. National initiatives such as the Federal Head Start Program in the United States invest in early language because they know it links with later academic success, graduation rates, and even health.
Connecting vocabulary to learning across subjects
Vocabulary growth influences every school subject, not only reading. In math, words like “difference,” “approximate,” or “consecutive” matter as much as numbers. In science, topic words carry key ideas. Without them, your child struggles to follow lessons even when they understand the hands-on part.
Art, music, and drama also rely on precise language to describe techniques, feelings, and styles. When schools and families combine language enrichment with arts activities, children get more chances to hear and use rich words in meaningful settings. Initiatives that support arts education for children often report gains not only in creativity but also in spoken and written expression.
Learning another language to strengthen vocabulary and language skills
Susie Dent also suggests exploring another language as a route to stronger English vocabulary. When children compare word roots, genders, and sentence order, they build flexible thinking about grammar and meaning. This awareness helps them notice patterns and decode unfamiliar terms in any subject.
Learning even basic phrases in a second language highlights how words group by theme, and how context guides meaning. It also encourages respect for other cultures, which forms part of healthy child development in a connected world.
Practical ways to add a second language at home
You do not need to be fluent to support beginner word learning in another language. Picture dictionaries, language apps designed for children, and short videos with subtitles introduce core vocabulary. Label objects at home in both languages and use those words during routine tasks.
Combine short lessons with songs, stories, and food from the culture that speaks the language. When children see vocabulary linked with real people and daily life, they keep interest longer. This habit of spotting shared roots, such as Latin or Greek origin words, later helps with complex terms in science and history.
Balancing screens with rich language environments
Susie Dent’s warning about shrinking vocabularies ties directly to how families use screens. Quick, silent scrolling offers little exposure to complex sentences or rare words. Still, digital tools used carefully support education, for example through curated story apps or online libraries.
Set simple family rules so screens do not replace shared talk. For instance, you might keep devices off at meals and during a short evening reading slot. When screens are on, choose content with strong narration, subtitles, or interactive word challenges to keep language skills in focus.
Creating a language-rich home, even with limited time
Parents often feel pressure when they hear advice about ideal home environments. The point is not perfection, but consistent small steps. A short chat in the car, one page of a story, or a single new word on a sticky note each day already shifts your child’s experience.
- Talk about your day in detail instead of using one-word summaries.
- Ask open questions such as “What surprised you at school?”
- Keep a running list of “family words” you discover together.
- Visit libraries or community events that highlight reading and literacy.
- Use word-based board games on weekends instead of only passive entertainment.
Community resources like local reading groups, early learning centers, and child care programs similar to high quality child care services often include structured language activities. Working together, families and educators create the rich word experiences every child deserves.