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Communication with your child begins in the womb. Many mums and dads-to-be can
be found singing and talking to their bumps, and evidence shows that newborn babies are
soothed by the sounds that they recognise from their time in the womb.
Early progress
Your baby will start making progress with communicating from the moment she is born.
Between the ages of one and three months, infants recognise Mummy and Daddy, and they
laugh, squeal, and smile. Your baby's personality will begin to become evident, and she
will become more active and alert.
Crying is the primary means of communication for many months. Aside from letting you know
that she needs something, your baby may cry when overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds
of the world. Sometimes she may cry for no apparent reason.
Babies will quickly learn to respond to the sound of your voice by becoming quiet,
getting excited, moving their arms and legs as well as beginning to smile regularly at
you during this period. However, your baby probably won't smile or be very friendly with
strangers. She is likely to be curious at first, warming to them later with coos and body
talk.
Look who's talking
Very quickly, babies discover that they have the ability to vocalise. Soon there'll be no
end to how much they coo and gurgle. Some babies begin to make some vowel sounds, like
"ah-ah" or "ooh-ooh," at about two months. Your baby will "talk" to you with
a variety of sounds, and will also smile at you and wait for your reaction, and respond
to your smiles with her own. Her arms and legs will move, and her hands will open up. She
may even try to mimic your facial expressions.
Your baby loves to hear your voice, so talk, babble and sing to her. Respond
enthusiastically to her sounds and smiles. Talk to her about what you are doing and what
she can see. Name familiar objects as you touch them or bring them to her. Reading to
babies, even in the early months, will help their brains to develop. By listening to you,
your baby will learn the importance of speech before she can even understand or repeat
any words.
Take special advantage of your baby's own "talking" to have a "conversation." If you hear
her make a sound, repeat it and wait for her to make another. You are teaching your baby
valuable lessons about tone of voice, pacing and taking turns when talking to someone
else. You are also sending her the message that she is important enough to listen to.
Don't interrupt or look away when your baby is "talking" - show her that you are
interested and that she can trust you.
Your baby's sounds are directly linked to hearing. At first, the "words" do not have much
definition but they will over time. Communication is heard more in the form of crying. As
a parent, you will quickly learn what each of the cries mean. For example, a loud
piercing cry might be associated with pain, while a whimpering cry might be connected
with tiredness. During this same time, your tot will begin to make other sounds such as
gurgling, cooing and giggling.
Babies this age seem to respond best to the female voice - the one historically
associated with comfort and food. That's why most people will raise the pitch of their
voices and exaggerate their speech when talking to a small baby. This is fine -
studies have shown that talking "baby talk" doesn't delay the development of speech -
but feel free to mix in some regular adult words and tone. It may seem early, but you are
really setting the stage for your baby's first word.
Babbling babies
Sometimes babies are not in the mood to talk or vocalise - and even babies need their
space. If your baby turns away, closes her eyes, or becomes fussy or irritable, let her
be or just try holding her. She may need a break from all the stimulation in the world.
There will probably be times when you have met all of your baby's needs, yet she
continues to cry. Don't despair - she may be overly stimulated, or have too much
energy and need a good cry.
By the time your baby reaches four months of age, the babbling will be much more
noticeable. You're likely to notice her trying to say words such as "bottle", although it
may come out more like "bobo." Most often, a baby will attempt words like "mama" and
"dada", which are the most important sounds in the world. If you find your baby repeating
sounds, she is experimenting with the way they feel and sound. This type of practice is
what develops into actual words and sentences.
Now, between five and nine months, big things begin to happen. Although some of the
sounds may not be perfectly said, you will start to understand your child very well, even
communicating through normal conversation. Remember, she will not be forming sentences
but tones and patterns will be obvious. In fact, many children will also begin pointing
at the refrigerator while asking for a bottle" or a toy when saying "doggie".
Sign of the times
It is common for older toddlers to invent their own sign language to help them
communicate with you, for example, pointing to their nose when it needs wiping. As a
result of this, baby sign language has been invented to encourage babies to use their
bodies to communicate. Baby sign language teachers say that the best time to start
teaching it is when they reach six months. Buy a good book or video on the subject and
you and your baby can learn together. Babies can begin learning baby sign language as
early as six months when they are introduced to basic symbols such as 'eat', 'drink',
'milk', 'more', and 'no'. Advocates of baby signing say that it can also help to reduce
bad behaviour because children are less frustrated.
When introducing signing to your baby there are a few simple rules that you should take
into account. It's a good idea to observe what interests your baby and introduce signs
that will mirror this. Always say the word when you sign, never sign in silence and speak
slowly and clearly but in a natural way. You also need to keep it simple, using just one
sign for each sentence. Be consistent in the signs you use but happily accept any signing
attempts from your toddler. Most importantly, be patient and relaxed about baby signing,
using lots of praise.
Remember, every interaction with baby is a chance to reinforce your loving relationship
with each other. So think about how you talk to her, how you carry her and how you
protect her from overly loud sounds. Each of your gestures communicates the unique
feelings you have for your baby. Together you are building a rich base for later language
communication that will continue for the rest of your child's life.
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