Imagine going
to some country that has
a language you are
totally unfamiliar with.
You would want a
teacher, a guide or at
least a dictionary to
help you learn how to
communicate with other
people. Your baby is in
a position that is even
more difficult. Having
spent months in the
dark, for the first time
your baby is seeing
faces and their
expressions and a whole
world that is new.
Fortunately your baby
has you as a guide, and
a baby has a brain that
is growing and making
new connections every
day.
Talking cannot be
learned if it is never
heard. Language skills
are picked up mostly by
example on your part and
assimilation on the
baby's part. So every
time you are around your
baby, talk to him or
her. Talk about your
life, your plans, and
your tasks. Talk to the
baby about the
housework, the weather,
and politics and
religion. As you change
your baby's clothing,
name her body parts.
Always talk about what
you are doing. Talk face
to face and make eye
contact. Singing songs
is great, too.
After a while your
baby will start to make
some vocal noises of
their own like cooing
and babbling. Respond to
these noises and repeat
them. Soon you will find
you are having your
first two-way vocal
communications with each
other, even if it is all
play. This is very good,
and lots of fun, too. By
listening and reacting
to your baby's first
sounds you are showing
him or her that you have
respect for what they
want to say. You are
encouraging more
language learning on
their part.
After a while your
child will understand
many of the words that
you use. Comprehension
always comes first and
is more developed than
the amount that a baby
or toddler is able to
say. In addition to
learning his or her
first words, your baby
will also start to make
up a few words of their
own. As long as you both
understand what it
means, this is
communication. It is
such a relief after
months of guessing your
baby's needs for him or
her to begin to tell you
what they want.
Another way to
cultivate language
skills is to read to
your baby. It is never
too early. You can start
with baby board books.
Sometimes you can even
read the newspaper or
poetry out loud to your
young baby. What is
really fun with a baby
book, though, is to see
a baby begin to engage
with the pictures. By
reading you will
introduce many new words
that your baby might not
hear in daily talk and
begin to associate
pictures of things with
the things themselves
and the word for it. The
time you spend reading
to your baby will teach
him or her that reading
is something wonderful
that people share with
each other.
Before long your
child will be copying
many words that you use
and putting them
together in sentences.
You will learn that a
child will not be able
to discriminate between
appropriate and
inappropriate language
for a long time, so it
is best to clean up your
own language if you do
not want your child
saying certain words to
his or her grandparents,
the preschool teacher or
your pastor.
If you are concerned
that your child is not
learning his or language
skills at a rate that
would be considered
normal, bring it up with
your child's doctor.
Your child may need to
have their hearing
tested or they may
benefit from other
interventions like
speech therapy. The
ability to talk and
understand language is
one of the most
satisfying skills your
child will acquire.
Before long you may be
even wondering how to
get him or her to take a
break from talking so
much.
