My child makes many grammatical mistakes. What can I do?


One way to help children fix grammatical mistakes is to model the proper way to say what they have just said. For example, if your child says "I goed to school yesterday," you can respond by saying "I went to school yesterday." You can do this by simply repeating what your child has just said using the correct grammar and pronunciation, or by saying it in a way that makes it sound like you are just double-checking what was said to ensure that you understand. This way, children hear the correct way to say something without making them feel like they are constantly being corrected. If your child continues to make many grammatical mistakes you may want to have your child evaluated by a language specialist.

Jennie Ito, Ph.D.

Child Development Expert

Jennie Ito is a mother of two and a child development consultant who specializes in children’s play and toys. Before becoming a consultant for LeapFrog, she was an intern at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, and later worked as a content expert for the Association of Children’s Museum’s “Playing for Keeps” Play Initiative. Jennie earned her doctorate degree in developmental psychology at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada.