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Home › Articles › Guiding Baby's Development › Babbles and Coos

Babbles and Coos

It's Never Too Early to Talk, Baby

By Mindy Hudon, M.S.,CCC-SLP

Pages:  1  2  3  

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!

All Ears
Your baby is always listening to words around her. During the first few months of life, babies respond best to "parentese" – 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

Pages:  1  2  3  

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