Talking to Babies and Toddlers: Why It's Better to Talk More
Talking to your baby or toddler can help his language and communication develop. The more you talk to your baby or toddler, the better.
This is because parents who talk to their children a lot use a lot of different voices and words. When children hear more words and many different words, their understanding of the language is improved. It also increases the number and variety of words they understand and use.
It's not just better language skills. Talking to babies helps their brains develop and can help children do better in school when they grow up.
What kind of conversation is good for babies and toddlers?
Talking to babies and toddlers isn't necessarily a big deal. You can talk to your child about doing laundry outside, preparing meals, or anything that's happening around you.
Is talking more good for babies and toddlers?
Any and all conversations are good for your baby or toddler, so talk as much as you can during the day. You don't need to schedule a time specifically for conversations.
Babies and toddlers also enjoy quiet time, so if your child stops responding to you and starts to appear tired, anxious, or grumpy, you may want to choose another time of day to talk.
Your child's temperament may also affect how often he wants to communicate with you. Some babies and toddlers are naturally more outgoing, while others are quieter.
When will I start talking to my baby?
It's great to start talking to your baby early. In fact, from birth, your baby absorbs a lot of information about words and words, simply by listening to and watching your conversations.
Conversations with your baby can feel one-sided at first. But even if your little one hasn't spoken yet, she'll listen to you and she'll try to join the conversation! She communicates by crying, making eye contact, and listening. Later, she will grunt, smile, laugh, make more sounds and move her body to communicate with you.
If you pay attention to your child while talking, you will notice that this early baby speaks and communicates.
By communicating back and forth with your child in a warm and gentle way, you are co-creating and sharing experiences. This strengthens your relationship with your child while helping your child learn more about the world.
Tips for talking to babies and toddlers
Talking to babies or toddlers who don't talk much may make you feel stupid, but keep at it! Conversations and activities that contain some of the following ideas can help develop your child's language skills.
Tune in your child
Reduce distractions. Turn off the TV or computer, or do anything that will help you "be there" to talk to your child.
Pay attention to what your child is interested in, ask questions or leave comments, and then give your child time to respond. For example, while in the shower, you can say, 'Is that a duck?' Ducks swimming. splash! '
Give your child time to find words for his thoughts as you learn to speak, and really listen as he speaks. For example, try not to finish his sentences for him and make sure he finishes before you speak. This conveys the message that what your child has to say is important.
Use natural pauses. As her language develops, your child will eventually fill those pauses. It also taught her to "give and receive" in conversation.
Get interesting
Talk to your child about things he's interested in – for example, what Grandpa might be doing today, stories you've read together, or what's going on out there.
Talk about an experience you shared – for example, "Today is sunny." But remember how wet we were on our way home yesterday? Your socks are soaking wet!
Use a lot of expression to make your conversations interesting and engaging. What you talk about isn't as important as how you talk about it.
If you use complex words, use a large number of descriptive words to explain them and build on them. For example, "We're going to see a pediatrician — a special doctor who knows babies and children very well."
Read, tell stories, sing and rhyme
If you can, read books and tell stories to your baby every day. In a few weeks, your baby will know that this is the time for you to enjoy quiet, special time together.
Talk about pictures in the book, think out loud about what will happen next in the story, point out words and letters, and have your child touch and hold the book and turn the pages. You can make up your own story based on the pictures in the book.
Helping your child learn about books and reading is fun. You can do this by having a special reading point, making hugs part of reading time, and having your child choose some books – even if you have to read the same books over and over again!
Singing songs and rhymes in the car, in the shower, before bedtime – even out of tune. Your baby will love the rhythm of these words and will be soothed by your voice. You can check out our Baby Karaoke for ideas.
Your child will also learn to speak by observing how you communicate with others. If you speak in a positive way, your child will learn to talk to others in a positive way. For example, when you eat together, you can use positive language such as "How were you doing today?" ”