 When a young child is first learning to talk, they usually start by learning a few simple words. Here is an easy way you can encourage their language skills. When they say a single word, you can say it back to them in a complete sentence. Let's look at some examples. If the child points at a ball and says, ball, you might say, you like to play with the ball, or if you are eating together and the child says, banana, you could say, we are eating this banana today, or if the child says, shirt, you could say, your shirt looks very nice. The child might not be ready to start speaking in full sentences yet, and that's okay. When you say their word in a sentence, you are helping them to learn that words can be used to make sentences.