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!

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."

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