Parent and Baby

Language acquisition is second nature to us. It is already programmed in our genes so that we can learn, speak and understand language. We use different methods so that we can be understood, even babies communicate from the moment they are born. They use crying in order to tell us what they need like wet diapers, hunger, in pain, uncomfortable or even if they only wanted to be cuddled.

As babies grow older, their communication skills will improve a lot. They learn from us and imitate what we do. The first two years is very crucial to the baby’ learning to talk and communicate. In order for us, parents, to aid and guide our baby’s learning, here are some tips:

1. Always talk to your baby what you are doing to him like “Mommy is feeding you now.”, “Baby is taking a bath. Do you feel cold?” Your baby will benefit a lot by listening to you. He may not understand you but he gains from the interpersonal interaction and the diverse vocabulary. Children who are talked to frequently when they were still babies have significantly higher IQs and richer vocabularies than those who were less talked to.
2. Speak in a sing-song, high-pitched tone of voice. This is to encourage your baby to vocalize, alert and interested through varying speech styles.
3. Read to your baby daily so that he will be exposed to language and this will also become the foundation for his study habits latter. Point out colorful pictures, simple words and familiar objects. Explain to him also what is going on in the story.
4. Avoid baby talk and incomplete sentences. For example, say “Do you want some milk?” instead of “Want milk?”. Diminutives like “doggy” is allowed.
5. Sing nursery rhymes to your baby. You can also play records and sing along with it.
6. Always listen and respond to your baby when he talks to you. He will appreciate it and will not hesitate to talk to you.
7. Live interaction and eye contact are very important to your baby. He likes to watch your facial expressions and gestures and may try to imitate them. Hold, cuddle, play and talk to your baby as much as possible.
8. Never ever compare your baby’s language progress with other children as everybody grows differently and in his own time.
9. Repeat words, alone and in a sentence. Support it by pointing to the object that you are talking about.
10. Labels on the things around the house will help your baby a lot in remembering there names. Encourage him to repeat after you the names. Do not laugh if he will make mistakes.