I remember how nervous and excited I was as a new parent of twins. In those early days, every minute was filled with doing baby chores. If I wasn't feeding a baby or changing a diaper, then I was doing laundry, making bottles or, oh, yes, teaching my babies how to talk!
Teaching your baby how to talk may not be high on your priority list right now, but I'm here to tell you that you're probably already doing just that. Every little precious word that you utter to your baby is being heard and processed by her developing brain.
Rapid language growth occurs during the first three years of life. Long before your little bundle of joy says her first word she is absorbing and understanding language that will become the foundation of her lifelong learning. That is why it is so important that you provide your developing baby with the best language modeling you can. In this case, more is better!
Always ListeningYour baby is always listening to words around her. During the first few months of life, babies respond best to short, high-pitched, "sing-songy" sentences. "I know it really doesn't matter what I say, but how I say it," says Christa Jachym, educational consultant and mother of 10-week-old Carlin. "Even if I'm just reading a magazine, as long as I use that baby voice she responds."
It is important to look at your baby when you're talking to her so she can see your eyes and mouth. Jachym says she often feels guilty when her baby is awake and is seated in the backseat of her car. "I like to be looking at her - at her face - making eye contact," she says. The expression on your face, the movement of your lips and the sound of your voice all stimulate her brain and help your baby learn how words are formed. "When she is looking at me and my eyes are wide open, then she opens her eyes wide," says Jachym. "I talk to her and she watches my mouth and tongue and opens up her mouth."
Eventually your baby will attempt to imitate these sounds by moving her mouth and tongue around in a variety of ways; this is called babbling. From these babbles, words are formed! For example, one day you're walking by your baby as she is putting her lips together and making this funny nasal sound "ma." She likes the way it sounds and feels so she says it again and again, "ma, ma." You get so excited because she said your name and you respond by saying, "Yes, I'm your Mama." You pick her up, smile and kiss her and say, "Here is your Mama." Your baby loves the attention and eventually realizes that when she says that funny sound, "mama," that you come pick her up or talk to her. It's not that your baby naturally knows that the funny sound "mama" means you. Actually, you recognize her babbles as a word and respond to it. Then you repeat it over and over again until your baby learns that if she says "mama" you will come.
Talk, Talk, Talk
"I think the most important thing is that I talked to her using natural language," says Sara Sumner, a special education teacher and mother of 25-month-old Madelyn. Your baby may not be talking at 6 months old, but she does understand. Comprehension comes before speaking so boost her language through experience. "I always described what I was doing, what she was playing with and where we were going," says Sumner. Talking to your baby as you do your daily chores, shop or are relaxing with a good book is a great way to expose her to diverse language structures and a vast vocabulary.
Many babies will say their first word before their first birthday, but that is not always typical. First words can start earlier or later than 12 months, although they are usually heard at about that time. One of the most frustrating things for new parents is understanding what their baby wants or needs. Life becomes a lot easier when your baby can tell you that she wants "juice" rather than crying while you're pulling everything out of the refrigerator until you find the juice. "I made a lot of effort to help Maddie communicate," says Sumner. "I find that she has not really had a lot of temper tantrums. . . because she has been able to communicate her needs from an early age."
Babies start to use gestures at approximately 6 to 9 months of age. They will use gestures before they actually use spoken words. Many parents are starting to use sign language with their babies to ease the gap in communication. Jachym has seen a lot of success with teaching gestures to babies before they talk. "I have seen it work with my own niece and nephew," she says. "They learned how to sign 'all done,' 'more,' 'up' and 'down' and it really helped."
Jachym feels that using signs or gestures naturally is the key to communication success. "I will encourage my daughter to do it [sign/gesture]," she says. "If she picks it up, great! If not, I won't push her."
Research suggests that this early form of communication decreases overall frustration between parents and babies. "We did some sign language with Maddie when she was about 8 months old, but she started using words very soon after so the signs faded away," says Sumner.
Finger imitation songs like "Itsy Bitsy Spider" or "Pat-a-Cake" not only stimulate Baby's brain with music, but they teach rhyme, vocabulary, language and gestures. Furthermore, singing can stimulate areas of the brain that promote peaceful feelings and can sooth a crying baby.
Whether you're singing, signing, reading or just talking, learning is taking place all day long! These loving interactions will help your baby's language flourish. So tell her about your day, whistle while you work and read her a recipe because language is the foundation of your baby's lifelong learning.
By Mindy Hudon, M.S.,CCC-SLP This article is kindly provided by: iParenting
