What really matters- Private Monologs- Toddlers sometimes talk to themselves as a means of rehearsing or reviewing events in their day or practicing sounds and pronunciations. Talking to herself helped Whit remember the details of the situations or to relive the completion of a problem.  Reliving the completion in words helps Whit reduce the anxious feelings she had when let say her mother was angry. Private speech also gives Whit a chance to practice the way that speech sounds without having the pressure or constraints of actually communicating with another person.  This means that Whit might invent new ways to express the same sentence by varying the volume, intonations,  pauses, and inflections.   

How to put it into practice-

My Experience-

Whit would usually perform her monologs in her crib. Most of the time when I heard Whitney behind the door, I could not tell what she was saying. I could just hear a dialogue going on and could not make out the words and meaning (see Private Babbling video). Sometimes I could make out that she was talking to her favorite baby doll and it sounded like she was reliving many of the daily scripts of the day as she feed the baby or put a bandaid on her boo-boo. (see Talking to Baby Doll video)

Tuning In-

There are other places beyond the crib where we might encounter these private monologs. Talking alone can occur anytime that our toddler is feeling comfortable and unguarded.  Her thoughts just bubble to the surface like day dreams you can hear.   These occasions might  include

· while in the bath tub

· while riding alone in the back of the car

· while at a familiar group setting when she is not the center of attention.

Extending/Bridging-

We can learn a lot about children when you hear them talk to themselves.  We might learn that Whit has observed something from the morning's events that we had not regarded as important.  We might hear Whit reveal her attitude toward an event, such as a monolog about being cold or going too fast on a sled.  The teachable moment is not when you overhear these monologs, but later when Whit is once again experiencing the event she had talked about.  At those times you will find that we can make a better connection with our toddlers and share the experience better if we use some of the phrases you heard #first# say during #his/her# monolog.  For example, if we heard her say during her monolog, "It is brrrr cold," use that expression the next time you are out of doors in the cold and you see her brace against the wind.  Language will develop naturally as our toddlers learn how words can provide continuity to experiences that happen over different times.