Hey Baby: Let's Talk

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

09 Aug 2006 09:30 AM

Your baby is never too young for you to talk to. In fact, whether they are verbal with you or not, talking to them is very good for their social, mental and emotional development.

Conversations

When my daughter was a baby, I used to talk to her all the time. I didn't just go the baby talk route (though believe me, I did plenty of that too). I used to ask my baby what I should fix for dinner, what book did I want to buy and even better - what pair of shoes looked better.

More often than not, she expressed her feelings with a combination of coos, giggles and babble. The point wasn't for her to give me a direct answer, but rather for her to have the comprehension building blocks for learning our language.

Babies Learn to Speak Our Language

That's right. If you took two babies born in two different parts of the world to parents speaking completely different languages - those babies would still be able to interact with each other on their level of comprehension. They have to learn to speak the same language as their parents.

This is why a baby adopted before their six month may have no difficulty adapting to their adopted parents form of language. In the meanwhile, there are plenty of things you can do with your little one to help them learn the language.

• Listen - When you are having a conversation with another adult you interject pauses where you listen - the same is true for when you are having a conversation with your baby - they will appreciate the audience if nothing else
• Storytelling - Narrate to your baby what is going on in their day - tell them about the diaper changes, the bottle preparation, the nursing, the clothes changing and let them know what you are doing with their legs, arms and hands - this helps them to identify the names of various actions and body parts
• Follow the Leader - If he or she is pointing at things or looking at them, tell him or her about them. Eventually, your baby and toddler will master the pointing to indicate what they mean and when you describe it for them, they will get a better idea of things

How do you have a conversation with your baby?

Related Articles:

What to Expect When Baby Speaks

Communicating With Baby 10 to 36 Months

Talking the Talk

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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