Talking Toddlers

"My toddler isn't listening."
If you've said those words - or thought them - this episode is for you.
In this episode of Talking Toddlers, speech-language pathologist Erin (with nearly 40 years in early intervention) unpacks one of the most misunderstood parts of toddler development: 
listening.
Spoiler: it's not what you think. And it's probably not what your toddler is lacking.
Erin breaks down why following directions is one of the most cognitively complex things we ask of young children - what's actually happening in their developing brain when we give a simple direction like "go get your shoes" - and why inconsistency is not defiance. It's development.
You'll also hear a story Erin tells on herself - the night she gave her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter a full lecture about "blessed language skills" and "remarkable comprehension"... and was met with a look of pure bewilderment. Because even the expert gets it wrong sometimes.
In this episode:
→  Why listening is a skill, not a behavior — and what that changes
→  What the developing prefrontal cortex actually means for your daily life
→  10 practical, daily habits that genuinely build listening (backed by 40 years on the therapy floor)
→  Why "fewer words" works better than any explanation
→  How routines and repetition build understanding from the inside out
→  The difference between "won't" and "can't" — and why it matters deeply
Whether your child is 18 months or 4 years old, this episode will change the way you see those moments when they just… don't listen.
And if you find yourself wanting more personalized support - Erin offers Discovery Calls for families who want clarity on where their child is and what they actually need right now. 
Not therapy. Not a diagnosis. Just a real conversation with someone who has been in this field for decades.
You're not alone in this.
🎧 Subscribe to Talking Toddlers wherever you listen to podcasts.
📥 Free resource:
The Top 10 Essential Skills Every Baby Needs Before Talking

👉 Book a Discovery Call 
These are FREE, one-to-one conversations designed to help determine what to focus on first - and whether a focused 6-week parent coaching format would be helpful for your family at this time. Not evaluations, not therapy - just space to reflect and be heard.
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DISCLAIMER:
This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your pediatrician or a qualified health provider with questions about your child’s development or health. The views shared are based on Erin Hyer’s professional experience and are intended to support informed parenting, not to replace individual consultation or care. Every child and family is unique — please use your discretion and consult trusted professionals when making decisions for your child.
📩 Questions: [email protected]
 🌐 www.HyerLearning.com

Have you ever reacted to your toddler… and then immediately wondered, “Why did I just do that?”
In this episode, we look beneath the surface of toddler behavior and explore a truth that can feel both confronting and freeing: sometimes our reactions have less to do with our child - and more to do with our own history.
I share how early patterns, survival strategies, and emotional wiring can quietly shape the way we parent. 
When we begin to notice the cycle - overwhelm, reaction, guilt, repeat - we open the door to something steadier.
Toddlerhood doesn’t need a perfect parent.
It needs a present one.
If you’ve ever felt caught between being too soft and too strict… between patience and frustration… this conversation will help you pause, reflect, and begin again.
Because lasting change in our children often begins within us. ❤️
👉 Book a Discovery Call 
These are FREE, one-to-one conversations designed to help determine what to focus on first - and whether a focused 6-week parent coaching format would be helpful for your family at this time. Not evaluations, not therapy - just space to reflect and be heard.
📥 Free resource:
The Top 10 Essential Skills Every Baby Needs Before Talking
========
DISCLAIMER:
This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your pediatrician or a qualified health provider with questions about your child’s development or health. The views shared are based on Erin Hyer’s professional experience and are intended to support informed parenting, not to replace individual consultation or care. Every child and family is unique — please use your discretion and consult trusted professionals when making decisions for your child.
📩 Questions: [email protected]
 🌐 www.HyerLearning.com

What if the most powerful thing you could do for your toddler's development happened while they were asleep?
In this episode, licensed pediatric speech-language pathologist Erin Hyer breaks down the neuroscience of sleep in early childhood — and why it is the most underestimated factor in your child's brain development, language acquisition, and emotional health.
Drawing on Dr. Matthew Walker's landmark research and nearly 40 years of clinical practice, Erin explains what is actually happening in your toddler's brain overnight, why the science community is only now catching up to what clinicians have observed for decades, and what you can do — starting tonight — to protect it.
Note: everything in this episode applies to adults too. Dr. Walker's work is a lifetime argument for sleep. Erin just happens to believe the earliest years are where it matters most.
You'll hear: the glymphatic system explained in plain language · why toddlers wake more — and why that is normal · the 3 words that change bedtime entirely · 10 simple steps organized into three groups · and a story involving a 6'6" ex-Navy husband that every parent will recognize.
Grab the free 10-step printable guide below:
🔗  10 Simple Steps To Support Toddler Sleep 
👉 Book a Discovery Call 
These are FREE, one-to-one conversations designed to help determine what to focus on first - and whether a focused 6-week parent coaching format would be helpful for your family at this time. Not evaluations, not therapy - just space to reflect and be heard.
📥 Free resource:
The Top 10 Essential Skills Every Baby Needs Before Talking
========
DISCLAIMER:
This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your pediatrician or a qualified health provider with questions about your child’s development or health. The views shared are based on Erin Hyer’s professional experience and are intended to support informed parenting, not to replace individual consultation or care. Every child and family is unique — please use your discretion and consult trusted professionals when making decisions for your child.
📩 Questions: [email protected]
 🌐 www.HyerLearning.com

Last week I introduced the first two habits quietly getting in the way of your toddler's speech.
This week we go deeper.
In Part 2 I'm sharing Habits 3, 4, and 5 - and these are the ones that tend to stop parents cold. Not because they're complicated. But because nobody told them these things mattered.
We start with the neuroscience - and I mean real neuroscience, the kind that completely changes how you see your child's developing brain. 
Your baby arrived in this world already wired for language. Not for any specific language. For all of them. 
Once you understand that, everything else in this episode lands differently.
Then we talk about the pacifier. Who it's really for. And why the transition is almost always harder for the parent than the child.
And finally - screens. After 40 years in this field, I have a clear position. I'll share it plainly, without apology, and with the clinical evidence to back it up.
In this episode:
The neuroscience of the developing brain — and why flashcards at 18 months are knocking on the wrong door
Citizens of the world — what this term means and why it changes everything
The pacifier question nobody asks honestly
What I really think about screens — and what I told families back in the early nineties that still works today
The thread connecting all five habits — and what Marcus taught me about what children actually need
Missed Part 1? Start with Episode 147 first — it'll make this one land much deeper.
👉 Book a Discovery Call
These are FREE, one-to-one conversations designed to help determine what to focus on first - and whether a focused 6-week parent coaching format would be helpful for your family at this time. Not evaluations, not therapy - just space to reflect and be heard.
📥 Free resource:
The Top 10 Essential Skills Every Baby Needs Before Talking
========
DISCLAIMER:
This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your pediatrician or a qualified health provider with questions about your child’s development or health. The views shared are based on Erin Hyer’s professional experience and are intended to support informed parenting, not to replace individual consultation or care. Every child and family is unique — please use your discretion and consult trusted professionals when making decisions for your child.
📩 Questions: [email protected]
 🌐 www.HyerLearning.com

If you've ever watched your toddler at a playground - wanting to join in, but not quite knowing how - this episode is for you.
After nearly 40 years as a speech-language pathologist, I've worked with hundreds of families whose children were bright, loved, and well cared for - and still not talking the way they should be.
In most cases, it wasn't a diagnosis that was getting in the way.
It was a handful of everyday habits. Common ones. Well-meaning ones. The kind that develop naturally in busy, loving homes - and quietly remove a child's felt need to reach toward language.
In Part 1 of this two-part episode, I walk you through the first two habits - including one that will surprise almost every parent who hears it.
This episode is not about blame. It's about clarity.
Because once you see these patterns, you can't unsee them. And the moment you start making small shifts - something opens up.
In this episode:
Why being too helpful can silence your toddler's speech
Why 200 words is not the finish line - and what happens when parents think it is
The snack table story that still stops me cold
Part 2 drops next week - or join my email list for early access. Link below.
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🔗 Join Talking Toddlers email list to get early access to part 2. 
👉 Book a Discovery Call
These are FREE, one-to-one conversations designed to help determine what to focus on first - and whether a focused 6-week parent coaching format would be helpful for your family at this time. Not evaluations, not therapy - just space to reflect and be heard.
📥 Free resource:
The Top 10 Essential Skills Every Baby Needs Before Talking
========
DISCLAIMER:
This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your pediatrician or a qualified health provider with questions about your child’s development or health. The views shared are based on Erin Hyer’s professional experience and are intended to support informed parenting, not to replace individual consultation or care. Every child and family is unique — please use your discretion and consult trusted professionals when making decisions for your child.
📩 Questions: [email protected]
 🌐 www.HyerLearning.com