“Hey, You Look Familiar!”
When your child recognizes everyone in the immediate family by name (mom, dad, siblings), he can learn to associate names with people outside the family (aunts, uncles, cousins, friends). Here are some activities to help your child learn:
- Pick people that your child has fairly regular contact with (daily, weekly, possibly even monthly).
- Play a game when the people are present, asking your child to point to the correct person when named (when first starting, your child may just look at the correct person).
- Make the game more challenging by picking up the speed of asking “Where is?….”. For older kids who are verbal, you can point to the person and ask “Who is this?”
- Also, you can point to someone and give the wrong name saying “This is Uncle John” when it is “Uncle Bob”. See if your child corrects you by telling you the right name of that person and where the other person is (“Uncle John”).
- Ask your child to point to extended family members and friends in pictures. Give your child pictures with a few people in them to make it more challenging.
