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 Listening
Your 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:
