Use Your Voice! Fun Ways to Encourage Speech Development in Preschoolers

If you have heard that the rules around mobile phones and electronic devices in early childhood settings have changed, you are right. If your child attends a childcare centre in NSW, these changes are already in effect.

Here is a plain-English breakdown of what changed, why it happened, and what it means for your family.

Why Did the Laws Change?

The changes were introduced as a child safety measure. In 2025, Australia’s Education Ministers agreed to amend the Education and Care Services National Law to address concerns about the potential for personal devices to be used to capture, store, or transmit images of children in care without authorisation.

The intent is straightforward: children in early learning settings deserve an environment where their privacy and safety are actively protected.

What Changed Nationally

From 27 February 2026, amendments to the national Education and Care Services National Law took effect across Australia. Under these changes, educators and staff who work directly with children are restricted from using personal electronic devices in care settings.

Before this, from 1 September 2025, all early childhood education and care services nationwide were required to have written policies in place addressing the use of digital devices.

What Changed in NSW

NSW moved ahead of the national timeline. The Education and Care Services (Supply, Authorisation and Use of Devices) Order 2025 took effect on 6 November 2025, applying across NSW’s 6,000 or more early learning services, including long day care centres, preschools, and family day care.

Under this order, educators and staff must use service-issued or service-authorised devices rather than their own personal devices when working directly with children.

What Counts as a Personal Device?

The definition is broad. A personal device is any device owned by an individual (not the approved provider) that is capable of capturing, storing, or transmitting an image. This includes:

Mobile phones
Smartwatches
Cameras and tablets
iPads and laptops
Hard drives, USB drives, and memory cards
Wearables such as camera glasses

Who Does the Ban Apply To?

The restrictions apply to anyone working directly with children at a service, including permanent and casual educators, students on placement, volunteers, contractors, and allied health professionals delivering programs on-site.

Parents, carers, and other visitors are not covered by the ban. In NSW, parents and carers remain free to use their personal devices during drop-off, pick-up, centre visits, and events involving their own children. There are also authorised exceptions for essential purposes, including emergencies and health or disability support needs.

What About Screen Time for Children?

These new laws specifically address staff device use, not children’s screen time. Screen time limits for young children are not mandated within childcare regulation at a national level.

The relevant guidance comes from the federal Department of Health and Aged Care’s 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, which recommend no screen time for children under 2 years, and no more than 1 hour per day for children aged 2 to 5 years. These are health guidelines, not regulatory requirements.

What This Means for Your Family

If your child attends a childcare centre in NSW, their service is already required to operate under these rules. Any educator or staff member working directly with your child should not be using a personal device to take photos or videos. Only service-authorised devices should be used for that purpose.

If you have questions about how your centre handles digital devices or image capture, you are well within your rights to ask. Most services will have a written policy in place that covers exactly this.

At Clovel, the safety and wellbeing of every child in our care is at the heart of everything we do. If you would like to know more about how we support your child across our centres, we would love to have that conversation with you.

As parents or caregivers to young children, we know the importance of preparing our children for school. Preschool plays a big part in that preparation, encouraging cognitive and social development. But, just as important as learning colors, numbers, and letters, helping your child develop strong speech and language skills will go a long way in preparing them for their formal education.

Children are typically considered “preschool age” when they are 2–5 years old and are considered to be in the sensitive period of development in which language skills are developed (this period extends from birth until the age of 6). During this period, children develop their speech and communication skills and it is the perfect time for parents and caregivers to support them in this area of learning.

We’ve broken down activities according to age group—2–3 year olds and 4–5 year olds, respectively. We think you’ll find these activities to be a wonderful way to spend time with your child while you encourage them to become strong speakers.

Activities for 2–3 Year Olds

READ

You may think we sound like a broken record on this topic, but it is so important that it bears repeating—read, read, read, to your child.

Every single day.

Multiple times a day.

Any time they ask.

Reading to your child is the single-most important activity you can do to help children become confident speakers. Even before they are able to read independently, hearing you read increases their vocabulary. When reading to your toddler:

Let them choose the book you read
Use different voices for different characters and adjust your volume and tone according to the story
Encourage your child to touch pictures and ask questions about the characters and the story (The puppy looks sad. What do you think he will do next?)

MODEL

Children learn how to communicate by watching you, so it is important that you are modeling good listening and speaking skills.

Give your child your full attention when he or she speaks to you. (Yes, we know this can be a tall order when dealing with a talkative toddler…it’s still important to stop what you are doing and listen). Your child will see the importance of listening attentively when others are speaking and will learn to take turns speaking when communicating.
Repeat what your toddler tells you to show you understand. Expand what they tell you, using proper grammar. For example, if your toddler says, “Want cookie!”, you might reply “You would like a cookie? Let’s pick one out to have after dinner.”

GAMES

Many games and activities can be played in ways that encourage speech development:

I Spy is a wonderful way to challenge children to use their words while sneaking in a little letter/sound association at the same time:

“I spy with my little eye something that begins with the letter B”
Sing favorite songs
Recite favorite stories and nursery rhymes. If you have them, use story baskets with finger puppets and allow children to retell a favorite story. If you don’t have official puppets, any toys or dolls can be used to recreate beloved stories

Activities for 4–5 Year Olds

Reading and modeling good speaking habits are still important in this age group. As your child matures, you’ll be able to continue expanding their vocabulary as you model speaking skills. Try using synonyms for common words in your child’s vocabulary—you might swap out “market” for grocery store”, “jam” for “jelly”, “labyrinth” for “maze”.

There are many entertaining games you can play with this age group that will support speech development in your 4–5 year old:

Play “I Went To..” – Recite an increasingly long list of items, adding one for each letter of the alphabet

“I went to the zoo and I saw an alligator, a bear, a chimpanzee and a dog”

“I went to the market and bought an apple, a banana, and a cookie”

If your child isn’t able to remember the list, do the reciting for them and let them add the final animal at the end.
Play Twenty Questions

I’m thinking of an animal. Is it furry? No. Does it live in the ocean? Yes.
Is it a fish? Yes!
TV Fun – Watch a favorite show with your child. As you watch, ask comprehension questions and have your child provide the answers:

Who is in the show?

What is the problem?

What do you think will happen next?

Once the show is over, ask your child to retell the story.

As your child grows, their speech and language skills become more complex. These skills will be key in learning to share ideas and . By incorporating a few fun activities during the day, you will ensure your child is able to communicate effectively throughout their school years and beyond.

For any more information, call Clovel Childcare and Early Learning Centre, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. For any information about our Educational Programs, give us a call at 02 9199 0294 or fill in this contact us form.

Thanks for reading,
Clovel Childcare
1300 863 986

Lyn Connolly

Founder and Company Director

Lyn Connolly is the Founder and Company Director of Clovel Childcare & Early Learning Centres, a family‑owned group of eight centres across Western Sydney established from her first service at Merrylands. Active in early childhood education since 1977, she also serves as President of the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW, representing providers in state and federal consultations, media, and public hearings.