Talking Toddlers

Your baby didn't ask for a nursery full of gear. She asked for you.
In this episode, Erin breaks down three of the most common baby products on the market — containers, weighted blankets, and white noise machines — and explains exactly why, after nearly 40 years of clinical practice, misusing them concerns her deeply.
You'll learn:
Why babies need movement, not containment
The connection between floor time, gross motor development, and speech — and why it's more profound than most parents realize
What co-regulation actually means and why your presence outperforms every product on the market
The clinical origins of weighted blankets — and what happened when they crossed from therapy rooms to Amazon
What the research actually says about white noise and the developing auditory brain
This isn't about guilt. It's about giving you the information the marketing never will.
📥 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.
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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

If you’ve ever wondered, “Should my child be talking by now?”  or "Is he talking enough?" -- this episode will give you clarity.
Before children use words, they build the skills that make talking possible.
In this episode, I walk you through the 7 stages of play in the first three years—and how each one helps your child learn to talk, listen, and engage.
You’ll learn:
 What your child should be doing before words 
 How play builds attention, understanding, and connection 
 Simple ways to support development in everyday routines 
This is not about doing more.
It’s about understanding what actually matters—and using what you’re already doing at home.
📥 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

"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.
========
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