Talking Toddlers

Erin Hyer
  • 4.6 (56)
  • Parenting
  • Updated Weekly

Calm, developmentally grounded guidance for moms of babies and toddlers. As a mom of a baby or toddler, it can feel like everyone has an opinion - and very few answers that actually make things clearer. The noise is loud. The pressure is real. And the uncertainty can be exhausting. Talking Toddlers is a podcast for moms who want calm, trustworthy, developmentally grounded guidance - without fear, guilt, or unrealistic expectations. I’m Erin Hyer, a licensed speech-language pathologist with nearly 35 years of experience supporting young children and their families. I’ve spent my career on the floor with toddlers, partnering with parents, consulting with early educators, and training graduate students to understand how children truly grow, learn, and communicate - through relationships, everyday routines, and meaningful language experiences. This podcast breaks down how the young brain learns, why certain behaviors or challenges show up, and how parents can gently support development before small concerns become bigger ones. I believe parents are in a powerful position — not to do more, but to understand more. Each episode offers: Practical, real-life strategies you can use during everyday routines Gentle explanations of the why behind toddler behavior and development Supportive conversations that help you feel less alone and more confident My goal is simple: to help moms feel empowered and toddlers feel supported - so learning, communication, and connection can grow naturally at home. New episodes of Talking Toddlers are released weekly.  This is a space for clarity, connection, and courage - where moms come to slow down, trust themselves, and support their child’s development with confidence.

  1. 1d ago

    Stop Chasing Words. Here's What Comes First. Ep 160

    Your toddler isn't talking yet — or at least not as much as you think he should be. And every piece of advice you've found tells you to do more or wait it out.  Neither one is the answer. There's a sequence to how talking develops. It doesn't start with words — it ends with them. And if nobody's handed you that sequence, you're either frozen or doing everything at once with no idea what's actually moving the needle. In this episode, Erin walks you through the staircase that leads to talking — from connection at the bottom to words at the top — and gives you a clear, honest way to figure out exactly where your child is standing today. This is the third episode in the Cluster 1 series. Episode 158 covered serve and return. Episode 159 covered why waiting doesn't work. This one is the payoff: what to actually build, and where to start. 👉🏻 Link to Episode 158 Click Here 🧡 Link to Episode 159 Click Here Share this with the mom who's been told to relax — and can't shake the feeling that now is the time to pay attention. 📘 FREE GUIDE — The 10 Things That Come Before Talking: CLICK HERE  📞 Book a Clarity Call with Erin — Click here and let's talk.  📩 Join the INSIDERS list — Screen-Free Summer Activities  Talking Toddlers | Erin Hyer, M.S. CCC-SLP Early intervention.  Prevention over remediation. Real information for the first three years. ───────────────────────────── 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: contact@HyerLearning.com  🌐 www.HyerLearning.com

    29 min

  2. Jun 30

    He'll Talk When He's Ready — Why Waiting Isn't a Plan Ep 159

    Everyone keeps telling you not to worry. "He'll talk when he's ready."  You smile, you nod — but somewhere underneath, your gut isn't buying it. Trust that. Because "ready" is the wrong word — and "wait and see" is not the gentle, neutral choice it pretends to be. After almost forty years with toddlers and the families raising them, Erin Hyer, speech language pathologist, takes on the second big myth worried parents are handed: that talking just shows up on its own, once a child decides he's ready.  It doesn't. Children don't talk when they're ready — they talk when they're built for it. In this episode, Erin unpacks why waiting feels like the kind, patient thing to do — and what it quietly costs. She walks through the difference between "ready" and "built," the honest truth about which late talkers really catch up (and why no test can tell you which group your child is in), the third option between panic and waiting, and how to find where your child is on the path right now. You'll walk away understanding: → Why "he'll talk when he's ready" sounds kind — but isn't neutral → "Ready" vs. "built": what actually comes first → The third option between panic and doing nothing → The real story on "catching up" — and why it can't be predicted → What to watch for, and where your child is right now → The one thing waiting spends that you can never get back Share this with the mom who's been told to relax — and can't shake the feeling that now is the time to pay attention. 📘 FREE GUIDE — The 10 Things That Come Before Talking: CLICK HERE  📞 Book a Clarity Call with Erin — Click here and let's talk.  📩 Join the INSIDERS list — Screen-Free Summer Activities  Talking Toddlers | Erin Hyer, M.S. CCC-SLP Early intervention.  Prevention over remediation. Real information for the first three years. ───────────────────────────── 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: contact@HyerLearning.com  🌐 www.HyerLearning.com

    42 min

  3. Jun 16

    How to Help Your Late Talker — Without More Words Ep 158

    You talk to your toddler all day long. You narrate everything.  And still — he's not talking, or not very much.  So you do what everyone tells you: talk to him even more. After almost forty years with toddlers and the families raising them, here's what Erin Hyer, speech-language pathologist, can tell you: talking more isn't the fix. Language isn't built by the number of words you pour in during the day — it's built by the back-and-forth between you and your child. In this episode, Erin unpacks why "just talk more" is the advice every worried parent hears, where it came from, and why it quietly misses what actually matters. She breaks down the famous "thirty-million-word gap" and what the research that followed really found, why screens can't build language no matter how "educational" they look, and the one small shift you can start today. You'll walk away understanding:  → Why talking AT your child isn't the same as talking WITH him  → The "thirty-million-word gap" — and what came after it  → Why screens and apps don't build talking  → What "serve and return" is — and how to start it at breakfast, bath, and bedtime stories  → The one shift that does more than a thousand more words Share this with every mom wondering why her little one isn't talking yet.  📘 FREE GUIDE — The 10 Things That Come Before Talking: CLICK HERE  📞 Book a Clarity Call with Erin — Click here and let's talk.  📩 Join the INSIDERS list — Screen-Free Summer Activities ───────────────────────────── Talking Toddlers | Erin Hyer, M.S. CCC-SLP Early intervention. Prevention over remediation. Real information for the first three years. 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: contact@HyerLearning.com  🌐 www.HyerLearning.com

    36 min

  4. Jun 9

    Why "No" Doesn't Work for Toddlers Under 3 — And What to Say Instead Ep 157

    If you've ever said "no" to your toddler and watched them do it anyway — you're not failing. You're just missing one piece of information that changes everything. The developing brain under three cannot reliably process negation. "Don't throw" registers as "throw." "No hitting" registers as "hit."  And the more you escalate, the more you reinforce the exact behavior you're trying to stop. In this episode, Erin breaks down why throwing, hitting, and grabbing are not three separate problems — they're one neurological reality — and gives you the specific language and strategies your toddler's brain can actually receive and learn from. You'll walk away understanding: → Why "No" fails — and the developmental timeline behind it → What's really happening when you lose your patience (it's more honest than you'd expect) → Why your toddler laughs when they hit — and what that laugh actually means → How to respond to throwing, hitting, and grabbing in the moment → The four things that work every time, across every situation This is the episode to share with every mom in the thick of the toddler years. ───────────────────────────── 📞 One question about your child you can't get a clear answer to? Book a Clarity Call with Erin — CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE NOW 📩 Join the INSIDERS list — weekly insights, tips, and more: The Top 10 Essential Skills Every Baby Needs Before Talking ───────────────────────────── Talking Toddlers | Erin Hyer, M.S. CCC-SLP Early intervention. Prevention over remediation. Real information for the first three years. ======== 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: contact@HyerLearning.com  🌐 www.HyerLearning.com

    51 min

  5. Jun 3

    Is My Child Really a Late Talker? Use This Checklist to Find Out Ep 156

    Is your child a late talker? Or is something else going on?  After 40 years working with toddlers and their families, I can tell you that the term "late talker" gets thrown around so loosely — by pediatricians, educators, and early intervention teams — that most parents are left more confused than helped. In this episode I'm giving that term its definition back. We walk through a six-area CHECKLIST you can use today, in your own home, to get a clear and honest picture of where your child actually stands. Not a diagnosis. Not a label. Clarity. We cover what a true late talker looks like, the THREE RISK FACTORS that change everything, why the alphabet and counting don't count toward your child's word total, why gestures matter more than most people realize, and the real TIMELINE for getting help through the system — because most parents don't know it, and not knowing it is exactly why wait-and-see is so dangerous. Download the free checklist that goes with this episode:  🔗 CHECKLIST CLICK HERE If you want to talk through what you're seeing with someone who has been on the floor with toddlers for 40 years, I have a few openings for a Clarity Call — 20 minutes, no pressure, one question: what does my child actually need right now?  👉🏻 Book here: [CLARITY CALL LINK] ======== 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: contact@HyerLearning.com  🌐 www.HyerLearning.com

    43 min

  6. May 12

    Is My Baby Behind? What Milestones Really Mean Ep 155

    Is my baby behind? Should she be crawling, walking, talking, or doing more by now? If you’ve ever found yourself Googling developmental milestones late at night, this episode will help you breathe, think clearly, and know what to watch. In this episode, Erin explains what milestones really are — not rigid deadlines, but guideposts that help parents notice progress, ask better questions, and support healthy development in everyday life. You’ll learn why progress matters more than the “perfect” date, how to think about developmental plateaus, and why parents are not passive observers. Your daily rhythms, interactions, play, movement, sleep, and connection all help shape your child’s growth. This is not about panic. It is about becoming informed, confident, and curious — so you can support your baby or toddler with more clarity. If you’ve been wondering, “Is this normal?” this episode is for you. 📥 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. ======== 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: contact@HyerLearning.com  🌐 www.HyerLearning.com

    27 min

  7. May 5

    The Problem Isn’t the Meltdown - It’s How You Respond Ep 154

    Your baby fusses in the car seat and your chest tightens. Your toddler falls apart when the block tower tumbles. Every instinct says — fix it, fast.  But what if rushing in is quietly preventing the very thing you want to build? This week on Talking Toddlers, Erin pulls back the curtain on one of the most misunderstood pieces of early development: resilience. After nearly four decades in private practice, Erin has watched two patterns play out in mom after mom — the 'Rescuer' who soothes every whimper, and the 'Reprimander' who expects her toddler to handle big feelings like a four-year-old. Both come from love. Both miss the middle.  And the middle is where resilient children get built. In this episode you'll learn: → The clear difference between real distress and productive struggle — and how to hear it  → Why resilience and emotional regulation are not the same thing (and how confusing them works against you)  → How co-regulation actually works — your calm is the curriculum  → The simple 3-word framework — Acknowledge. Encourage. Wait. — you can use today  Erin also shares the story of why she stopped doing direct therapy after watching the children walking through her door change — and what that pattern is teaching us about prevention vs. intervention. This is the kind of episode every new mom needs in her ears before her baby's first frustration — and the kind every overwhelmed mom needs to hear right now. 🎓 Foundations Course enrollment opens June 1st. Get on the waitlist by signing up for INSIDERS: 📥 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. ======== 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: contact@HyerLearning.com  🌐 www.HyerLearning.com

    29 min

  8. Apr 28

    The Baby Gear Mistake Almost Every Parent Makes Ep 153

    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 containmentThe connection between floor time, gross motor development, and speech — and why it's more profound than most parents realizeWhat co-regulation actually means and why your presence outperforms every product on the marketThe clinical origins of weighted blankets — and what happened when they crossed from therapy rooms to AmazonWhat the research actually says about white noise and the developing auditory brainThis 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. ======== 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: contact@HyerLearning.com  🌐 www.HyerLearning.com

    39 min
See All (160)

4.6
out of 5
56 Ratings

About

Calm, developmentally grounded guidance for moms of babies and toddlers. As a mom of a baby or toddler, it can feel like everyone has an opinion - and very few answers that actually make things clearer. The noise is loud. The pressure is real. And the uncertainty can be exhausting. Talking Toddlers is a podcast for moms who want calm, trustworthy, developmentally grounded guidance - without fear, guilt, or unrealistic expectations. I’m Erin Hyer, a licensed speech-language pathologist with nearly 35 years of experience supporting young children and their families. I’ve spent my career on the floor with toddlers, partnering with parents, consulting with early educators, and training graduate students to understand how children truly grow, learn, and communicate - through relationships, everyday routines, and meaningful language experiences. This podcast breaks down how the young brain learns, why certain behaviors or challenges show up, and how parents can gently support development before small concerns become bigger ones. I believe parents are in a powerful position — not to do more, but to understand more. Each episode offers: Practical, real-life strategies you can use during everyday routines Gentle explanations of the why behind toddler behavior and development Supportive conversations that help you feel less alone and more confident My goal is simple: to help moms feel empowered and toddlers feel supported - so learning, communication, and connection can grow naturally at home. New episodes of Talking Toddlers are released weekly.  This is a space for clarity, connection, and courage - where moms come to slow down, trust themselves, and support their child’s development with confidence.

Information

  • Creator
    Erin Hyer
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    160
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Talking Toddlers
  • Show Website
    Talking Toddlers

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