Some strategies

• by yelling a lot
• by making a lot of ‘growly' or animal noises
• by using a pitch that is much higher or lower than their natural pitch

• encourage your child to take regular drinks of water. This helps to ‘oil' the vocal cords and helps them to work together smoothly
• discourage your child from making a lot of animal or ‘growly' noises, such as roaring like a lion, making machine noises, high pitched squeaking etc. This type of voice use can strain the vocal cords
• discourage your child from yelling or screaming during play. Suggest alternative activities which do not involve the use of a loud voice
• praise your child for using a quiet voice
• instead of calling out across a room, encourage your child to come closer
• reduce background noise (TV, radio, open window) when you are listening to your child so there is no need for raised voices
• model good voice use. Demonstrate the way to care for a voice by doing the things listed yourself

If your child speaks too loudly

• praise your child for using a quiet voice; for example, “I really like it when you use that quiet voice”
• give your full attention when your child is talking to you so that voices do not have to be raised
• encourage your child to come closer to the person they want to speak to instead of calling out across a room. Praise your child for doing this
• reduce background noise (TV, radio, open window) when you are listening to your child so that voices do not have to be raised
• model a quiet voice

If your child speaks very quietly

• praise your child for using a louder voice; for example, “I really like the way you used a bigger voice that time – it was really easy to hear what you were saying”
• respond to the meaning of what your child is saying more than to how it is said
• encourage and praise your child for non-speaking activities – build their confidence as much as possible

If your child has a very unusual voice quality

• discuss your child's voice quality with your GP (general practitioner), Plunket nurse or other Well Child provider (see Where to go for more information below and the Well Child / Tamariki Ora services for under fives fact sheet on this website)

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When should I seek help?

If you are concerned about your child's voice, you should discuss your concerns with the following:

• your child's teacher (if attending an early childhood centre or school)
• your GP (general practitioner)
• your Plunket nurse or other Well Child provider (see Where to go for more information below and the Well Child / Tamariki Ora services for under fives fact sheet on this website)

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Where to go for more information

On this website (related fact sheets)

An introductory fact sheet What's involved in learning to talk?

Speech sound development

Language development: 0 - three years of age

Language development: four to five years of age

Encouraging language development

Using language socially - an important skill

Stuttering / dysfluency

 

Much more than words: Monitoring and encouraging communication development in early childhood. (Warning: large pdf file - 60 pages).

Originally written for early childhood professionals, this booklet may be of interest to parents and caregivers who want more detailed information. The booklet was published by the Ministry of Education, Special Education in 2000. 

Website: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/

 

Plunket

If you are concerned about an aspect of your child's voice, you could discuss your concerns with your Plunket nurse (or other Well Child provider - see the Well Child / Tamariki Ora services for under fives fact sheet on this website). For your local Plunket office or Plunket Karitane Family Centre, check the Plunket website or look under Plunket in your phone book. Plunket also offers a specialist early childhood health telephone help service. It is available to all families, whanau and caregivers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call PlunketLine free on 0800 933 922.

Postal address: PO Box 5474, Wellington 6145

National office phone: 64 4 471 0177

National office fax: 64 4 471 0190

Email: plunket@plunket.org.nz

Website: http://www.plunket.org.nz/ 

 

Speech Language Therapists

Speech language therapists are employed in the Ministry of Education, special schools, hospitals, and in private practice. To find a speech language therapist, you can:

• contact the Ministry of Education, Special Education - (see Special Education on this website or phone the Special Education information line on 0800 622 222 or email a query to special.education@minedu.govt.nz. You can self-refer to a Ministry of Education speech-language therapist 
• see where to find speech and language therapists at the New Zealand Speech-Language Therapists Association website
• ask your child's kindergarten or school teacher to refer your child
• look in the phone book's yellow pages under speech language therapy for speech language therapists in private practice

Team-Up: Helping our kids learn (Ministry of Education)

The Team-Up website provides information, ideas and materials to help parents support their children and get more involved in their learning and education. There are lots of ideas about play for young children and information about how children learn through play.

Website: http://www.teamup.co.nz/

 

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Acknowledgements

This fact sheet has been produced in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Special Education and adapted from:

 

Ministry of Education, Special Education. 2000. Much more than words: Monitoring and encouraging communication development in early childhood. 

 

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Endorsement

This fact sheet was endorsed by PSNZ - 27/06/2009

Copyright

Fact sheets are subject to copyright. In the interests of information sharing they may be copied but acknowledgement must be given to PSNZ and Starship Foundation.
© The Paediatric Society of New Zealand and Starship Foundation 2005 - 2012

The Paediatric Society of New Zealand http://www.paediatrics.org.nz

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