Volume Level Card
Use a visual voice-level card to help your child hear, imitate, and choose different volumes during play and everyday routines.
- 2 years
- Quick prep
- At home
- About 15 minutes
Developmental benefits
- Cognitive：Using a visual volume card during games and daily routines helps your child connect a level with the expected loudness and adjust their voice.
- Language：Hearing and seeing each volume level demonstrated helps your child understand what the levels mean during conversation.
Preparation
What You’ll Need
- 1
A volume-level card
Step 1
Meet Four Voice Levels
Show the voice-level card and demonstrate each of the four volumes. For level three, for example, speak as though addressing a group so your child can clearly hear how it differs from the other levels.
What to notice
- Speaks loudly with you after hearing your level-three voice
Attending and Understanding - Points to level 3 on the volume card after hearing “level 3”
Emergent Literacy
Tips
- Level three—a loud voice—can fit a presentation or a noisy environment.
- Level two—a regular speaking voice—fits most conversations.
- Level one—a whisper—fits quiet places such as a library.
- Level four—an outdoor voice—is for calling or shouting in an open outdoor space, not indoors.
Step 2
Pass the Voice Around
Sit in a circle and take turns saying a short message to the person beside you at the chosen volume. The listener responds playfully to what they hear—for example, covering their ears and saying, “That’s loud!” Choose a different volume for each round.
What to notice
- Attempts to change their volume after your reminder
Cognitive Self-Regulation (Executive Functioning) - Covers their ears after hearing your level-four voice
Communicating and Speaking
Tips
- Begin with everyone using the same level. This keeps the focus on copying one volume and noticing how it feels and sounds.
- Changing levels too quickly may shift attention to the excitement or whose turn it is before your child understands the scale.
- After several rounds, compare the reactions: Which voice felt too loud, too soft, or just right for the situation?
- For example, one adult can use a level-four voice and the next person can cover their ears and say, “That’s loud!” Then pass the message to your child.
Step 3
Use the Volume Scale Every Day
Use the volume scale in everyday moments. When someone is sleeping, reading, or working, say, “Shh—this is a level-one voice.” Demonstrate the volume, then invite your child to copy it and notice how the situation changes the voice they use.
What to notice
- Lowers their voice to avoid waking Grandma
Emotional Functioning - Copies you speaking in a very quiet voice
Imitation and Symbolic Representation and Play
Tips
- Use the same card in other settings so your child can practice matching a voice level to the situation.
- The card makes a reminder specific: “Let’s use a level-two voice,” or, “A level-one whisper fits here.”
Better Parenting Content Team · Updated September 11, 2026