Taking the first steps towards socializing while spending more hours in challenging environments outside the security of the child's home requires good hearing support. During this phase your child will also need to develop language complexity and richness in order to be ready for school.

Socializing and seeking answers

“Why? Why?” from morning to night. This phase is about growing self-confidence, self-expression and even more so self-control. Your child wants to do more and they can—with your help.

A preschool child constantly improves his/her language skills and wants to use them to chat with everyone about anything – but they are also able to listen to others with interest and share and build their first friendships. Help them to participate in everything they desire and they will develop even more skills. Empower them in relation to their hearing aids and their need for good communication by giving them responsibilities appropriate to their age and development.

From playing alongside to playing together

During this phase, children start to make friends and begin playing with them. They also begin to compare themselves and their abilities to others.

Playing with friends often happens in day-care, playdates at home or in the playground, which is a more complex and noisy environment than home. Background noise and other children speaking next to them is often a challenge. For some children with hearing loss, noise and delayed language can result in problem behaviors, such as temper tantrums or biting, because they are not able to communicate what frustrates them.

Oticon hearing aids provide revolutionary technology that allows your child to follow and participate in what’s going on all around them, giving them the right conditions to interact socially and recreationally.

Meet our pediatric hearing solutions

Me, others and the rest of the world

The preschooler often has favorable opinions of his/her own abilities. They are able to complete tasks and develop and improve their speech intelligibility to question and explain anything in the world. The child shows initiative, seeks independence and becomes increasingly aware of the world around them.

If they are not receiving the full environmental experience due to their hearing loss, they risk being caught in a lower development stage and behave abnormally compared to hearing children their age. There is also a risk that children with hearing loss are overprotected from experiencing challenges and failures. It is important to their natural development that you allow them access to safe environments outside their home and to have the experiences needed to grow. Read more about raising a child with hearing loss

How to help:

Avoid criticism and encourage your child to do more. Try to distinguish between unwilling to and unable to.
Let your child know the rules and consequences. Be consistent when setting limits—at this stage they should be able to accept them without feeling guilt.
Practice speech with regards to words with double meanings, analogies, inferences, etc.
When ready, give them access to educational and communication tools like tablets so they can engage with these devices like their normal-hearing peers. Through a wide range of connectivity options, your child can use their Oticon hearing aids to connect with their everyday electronics and enhance communication around them.

Opportunities of empowerment

Make your child responsible for the care of their hearing aids
At the age of four your child has more fine motor control and can handle small objects. Let them change the batteries on the hearing aids and put on and take off their own hearing aids.

Teach your child self-advocacy
Discuss what a good listening environment is. They are soon able to state their needs for better communication. Give your child the necessary communication tips to refer to. You can also hand them out to day care personnel.

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Next phase: School-age child (6-12 years)

As children with hearing loss grow, they face a range of challenges at different stages of their lives, from infancy through the school years and beyond. Children learn and progress differently over time and the needs of your child must be assessed continuously. Every new concept of and skill set results in new behavior. Be aware of the signs, so that you can provide support!

When children start school, a time of exciting adventures begin. However, for all children, school is a place that requires a lot of effort on their part as they try to hear, understand and act on what is said in the classroom. Prepare yourself for a new, fantastic and challenging phase in your child’s life.

Preschooler(3-6 years)