The following strategies promote a healthy voice. These are things that you and your whole family can do at home, at school, and everywhere you go to use an appropriate and healthy speaking voice. By encouraging these strategies, you may help your child improve if he already has a voice disorder, or avoid diagnosis of one. Try to introduce and use one per day, and move on when you think your child is ready.

1. Speak softly, with an “inside voice.”
2. Don’t shout or talk over other noises.
3. Whistle, snap your fingers, or clap your hands to call your pet, play with your sister(s) and/or brother(s), and to get your friend’s attention on the playground.
4. Use good voice habits at home, at school, and everywhere you go.
5. If you have to yell, only do so for a short time.
6. Tell someone when something is wrong, rather than crying when you are sad or mad.
7. Drink plenty of water and eat lots of fruits and vegetables with vitamins A, E, and C.
8. Lower or turn off the radio when you talk in the car.
9. Lower or turn off the TV when you are talking at home.
10. When you are looking for someone in your house, ask someone where that person is, or go look for them, rather than yelling their name.
11. Take quiet time breaks when no one talks except for in an emergency. Work these into daily routine activities, for example, while watching TV, setting the dinner table, getting ready for bed at night, during story time, or in the car on the way to school.  Start at five minutes and see if you can work your way up to longer.
12. If you have to sing, only sing for a short time, and not too loudly.
13. Try not to make animal sounds or car sounds while playing (e.g., growling, motors, explosions, etc.).
14. If you have asthma, always take a drink of water after using your inhaler.